


A Republic Asset and a Trip Back Home

by LeoBananaPhone0829



Series: The Bad Batch and The Reaper [9]
Category: Star Wars: The Clone Wars (2008) - All Media Types
Genre: Alien Planet, Angst, Attempted Murder, Blood Magic, Blood and Gore, Blood and Injury, Body Horror, Curses, Evil monologue, Magic, Multi, Murder, OC is just a plant with extra steps, Original Alien Species - Freeform, Past Abuse, Polyamory, Romance, Seizures, Sibling Rivalry, Witches, world building
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-16
Updated: 2020-12-21
Packaged: 2021-03-05 22:07:18
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 16
Words: 41,818
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25912573
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LeoBananaPhone0829/pseuds/LeoBananaPhone0829
Summary: It's just another mission. A mission with her team and her Master. She tries to ignore what planet they'll be going to, how her two lives will finally collide. She just needs to get through the mission and everything will be fine.
Relationships: Clone Force 99 | Bad Batch & Original Female Character(s), Clone Force 99 | Bad Batch/Original Female Character(s)
Series: The Bad Batch and The Reaper [9]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1665424
Comments: 44
Kudos: 129





	1. Chapter 1

She stares down at the datapad in her hand, Hunter and Master Kafirm's voices drone on in the background: 

_Location: Tithea_

_Unit: Clone Force 99_

_Commanding Officer: Jedi General Rodak Kafirm_

_Clone Force 99 will accompany General Kafirm to Tithea. Extraction of Republic asset, Maud Sharpe, and her one child from the village known as Draycott. Relocate to a secure location on Coruscant._

"The planet is on the verge of civil war without the Separatists-" Hunter says. 

"It always is, The Elders have pitted the villages against each other. It's been that way for hundreds of years." She crosses her arms over her armored chest. The others turn to her. "I assume the Separatists want Tithea for its resources. It's still a pretty primitive planet. Not a lot of has been colonized. The forests are too dense." She explains. 

"Are you sure you're up for this?" Echo asks. 

"I'm fine. You're going to need me." She bites back at him. She motions to the holo table, bringing up the map. "Ash Grove is surrounded by thick forests on all sides." She zeroes in on a clearing. "This clearing is two and a half klicks from the village. They won't be able to see us if we land at night." 

"What will we need warding wise?" The Jedi asks. 

She sighs, "If this was another village we could get away with minimal wards. Draycott is known for its trackers. They specialize in tracking life signatures. As soon as our boots hit the dirt they'll know we're there." 

"Is there a way to scramble our life forces?" Tech asks.

"Yes and no. I can make you look like you belong there, but masking a life force is dangerous. It could kill you and the one casting." She explains. 

"You have a way around that?" Master Kafirm asks. 

"Yes. It won't be easy but it can be done." She doesn't tell them that it involves her own blood. They'll never agree. 

The Jedi nods. "We leave in an hour. I will meet you all in the hangar." He nods and walks out of the room. 

She lets herself deflate, still staring at the holo table, the map casts a blue glow around the room. "I need to gather spells." She murmurs before she steps away and out the door.

\-----------------------------

Hunter doesn't have to be a Jedi mind reader to know what's wrong with her. He watches her as she leaves the room, her stance defensive and cold. 

The room goes silent, it threatens to suffocate them. "Why would they put her on this mission?" Echo finally speaks up.

"Not a lot is known about Tithea. Hardly any of the inhabitants leave. It would make sense for them to send the only two people who know anything about it on the mission." Tech explains. 

"And what if something goes wrong?" Echo asks. 

"We have a one hundred percent success rate. That won't change with this one." Wrecker says, his words are heavy. They have to make sure this mission goes according to plan. It has too.

\---------------------------

She knows the Jedi is following her as she makes her way back to the barracks. She can feel his presence in the back of her mind, trying to get a read on her emotions. "Master, with all due respect, get out of my head." She growls when she turns to him. 

"You're angry, scared, worried for them. But there's something else. You're afraid of them seeing _him._ " The Torgruta hits the nail on the head. "You're not afraid of him. Not anymore." The man is calm and collected. "You're afraid of what you'll do if you see him, what they'll see." 

She gulps and looks down at her boots before she steels herself. "I said get out of my head." Her voice is full of venom. The Jedi finally retreats from her mind as she glares daggers at him. "I know you're worried, but I'm fine. I'll have the boys with me and the mission will go smoothly just like it always does." She tells him. 

"You're very attached to them. Your bond is strong. Do they treat you well?" He asks with a knowing smile. 

"Yes, they do." She replies. "If you will excuse me, I need to find the wards we will be using." She tells him. 

"You are dismissed." The Jedi smiles at her, turning for the hangar. 

She takes a breath before continuing onto the barracks. 

The runes are simple. The symbols that accompany them are more complex, if she gets them wrong she could kill one of them. She shivers at the thought. The wards pack a punch if someone tries to attack with magic their spell will be reflected back three-fold. Their safety is not something she will take lightly, especially in the presence of other magic users. 

There's a knock on the door before it slides open. Echo's head pops in, "Ya ready?" He asks.

She has to stifle a smile when she sees Glitch clinging for dear life to his pauldron. "Yeah, I think I have what I need." She snaps her book closed and stands from the floor, tucking it under her arm. "Big bad commando and his cute little tooka kitten." She mumbles as she walks by him. 

"I can hear you." He says. 

The troopers they pass have to double-take, their eyes flitting between the cybernetics and the tiny beast. Some of them stifle laughter, others just grin. "Good thing the commando is cute too." She grins at him. 

She's never seen him this flustered, his face flushes and he trips over his words. She can't help but bark out a laugh as they walk through the hangar doors. 

The _Maurader_ comes into view and the mood shifts. As soon as she steps on that ship, this mission becomes real, not just orders on a datapad. She has to go back home, deal with the emotions and the events that transpired. Echo lays a hand on her shoulder and she reaches up to grab it, clutching it like a lifeline. He doesn't say anything, just rubs his thumb over her gloved hand. 

She takes a cleansing breath before she drops her hand as they approach the rest of the team, Master Kafirm stands off to the side talking with Hunter and Crosshair, she can't tell what he is saying but they are both nodding along. Tech hands her her helmet and medpack. "We are ready to go Sarge." He tells Hunter. 

Hunter nods accepting his own helmet from Tech. "99, let's move." 

\----------------------------

Crosshair watches as Reaper studies the book intensely. Her eyes never move from the pages as she traces the symbols with her fingertip. 

"She's always been like that. Instead of meditating, she would go to study in the library. She always preferred the ancient books from her system rather than the many datapads, she said it made it feel more real." The Torgruta says. 

One thing he didn't pick up from Skywalker was the Jedi's intense calm. This man barely moves and when he does the movements are incredibly smooth and practiced. Nothing gives away what he's feeling as he watches his apprentice. His grey eyes follow her finger as she continues to skim the page. She murmurs under her breath as she traces the ink on the page, the symbol glows back at her and she smiles. 

Tech and Hunter stand in the doorway of the cockpit and watch her. "Can you tell us anything else about the layout of the village?" Tech asks her. 

She looks up from her book. "In the center, there's a massive tree, the village is built around it. Maud's house is towards the center of town. We will only be able to move at night. They have minimal electricity, not a lot of people use it." She explains. 

"We will have two guides from the village so you won't have to lead us there," Hunter tells them.

"Getting through the forest will be the hardest part. There could be traps depending on if there were any recent attacks. The guides will hopefully know where exactly those are." She says. The symbol fades back to black and she stands. "I need to start warding." She announces. "Who wants to go first?" There's mirth sparkling in her eyes. 

Hunter steps forward. "What do you need?" 

She looks him up and down, "Strip. Just the top portion." She smirks. 

Hunter's eyes widen but he obeys her orders, shucking his armor and blacks off. "Anything else?" The Sargent asks. 

She grabs her book, "Your vibroknife."

\-----------------------------

She doesn't look up from the book as she holds out her hand. "Why do you need it?" Hunter asks defensively. 

"You'll see. Give it." She motions for it again. When the cold metal is pressed into her hand she finally looks up from the page. "Master, could you hold this please?" She asks. The Jedi stands and takes the book in hand. 

"You are not carving that into me." Hunter takes a step back. 

"Relax, I'm not going to hurt you." She tells him as she presses the blade to her palm. She takes a breath before she slides it over her skin, the bite making her clench her jaw in pain. She watches as the black blood bubbles up to the surface before she dips two fingers into the small puddle. 

"That is not sanitary!" Tech protests immediately. 

"Would you rather be dead?" She asks. 

Tech grumbles and moves closer to watch. "Alright Hunter, just relax for me. Open yourself up to the protection. Think of it as a wall around you." She talks him through the spell as she uses her fingertips to draw runes and symbols over his chest. "Just a couple more." She tells him. When the spell is complete the runes glow faintly, pulsing along to his heartbeat. She takes a step back and closes her fist before she turns to Tech, "Wanna go next?" She asks him. 

His eyes grow wide but he pulls off his gloves. He swallows nervously before he slides off his armor and shirt. "Why is it black?" He asks when she opens her hand again. 

"It's a mix of chlorophyll and flavanoids. If you look at our blood under a microscope you will actually notice more purples and greens. All mixed together it looks black." She explains. 

Tech nods. "What will these runes do exactly?" 

"They will protect you from being noticed by the others in the village, they will mask your life force, make you look and feel like someone they know. If an attack is volleyed at you it'll be reflected back to them three-fold." She explains as she draws the symbols on his chest. Tech watches her strokes with a curious eye. "Just relax. Remember what I told Hunter? Imagine a wall around you-"

"Ray shields are way stronger than walls." He cuts in. 

She smiles. "Just imagine something protecting you. Feel the magic, let it protect you from the inside out." He hums in thought as she draws the last rune, they thrum to life. 

He leans forward and kisses her forehead. She sends him a small smile before she remembers their audience member. 

"Relax, I already know." Master Kafirm shrugs. 

She let's out the breath she was holding before she turns to Crosshair. "Your turn, Murder Twig." She beckons him over. 

"You're dripping blood on the floor, Hag," Cross grumbles before he stands and gets rid of his armor. 

"I'll clean it up in a minute." She tells him. 

"Do I get to do this to you?" He whispers huskily. "Get you out of that armor?" 

She tries to conceal her reaction to his words. "Crosshair." She growls lowly.

"That's my name, darlin'" He smirks down at her. 

"Not in front of the Jedi." She says through gritted teeth. 

He chuckles darkly. "Relax, Sweetheart. Do what you need to do." 

She focuses on his chest, her eyes tracing the scars. He doesn't have as many as Hunter or Wrecker but they're still there. She smears the runes into his skin, they glow without her having to prompt him. She looks up at his face to see a small smile as he gazes down at her. Her cheeks feel hot as she finishes. "Good." She whispers to him. "Tech, please go get Wrecker and Echo."

\--------------------------

When Echo walks into the room the first thing he sees is three of his teammates shirtless and their chests have been painted in strange symbols. He looks between each of them before his eyes settle on Wildflower, she cradles her hand and something drips from it. _Blood,_ he realizes. It sends him into a panic. "Are you okay?!" He rushes towards her. His eyes flit to the others and then back to her. He stops, "Is that your blood?" He asks, a grimace on his face. "Isn't that dangerous?" The briefings on first aid and blood-borne illnesses fill his mind. 

"It's either my blood or risk being killed before we even step foot into the village." She tells him. 

Wrecker nudges past him. "Speck knows what she's doing!" He exclaims throwing his arm around her shoulder. 

"You wanna be next, Big Guy?" She asks. 

Wrecker pulls at his armor, letting it thud to the floor. "Paint me pretty." He beams at her. 

Echo watches the look of concentration as she dips her fingers into her palm and paints the runes onto Wrecker's broad chest. She speaks softly to him as she works. He nods along and closes his eyes. The symbols start to glow a soft white like the others, they gently pulse along with what he thinks is Wrecker's heartbeat. 

She turns to Echo. "Tech, Wrecker back to the cockpit, please. Hunter, Cross you want to go do a weapons check?" 

They all follow her orders and exit the room. "Master, if you could please excuse us." Her voice is more of a command than a suggestion. He nods before standing and wandering towards the cockpit where Tech and Wrecker disappeared to. She turns to him, a soft smile on her face. "Let's get that armor off, yeah?" 

She reaches into her belt and pulls out some gauze, pressing it into her palm after wiping the blood from her fingertips. She steps in front of him and begins to pull his pauldrons off. He inhales shakily as she strips off his chest plate and backplate. She pauses for a moment. "I'm alright." He mumbles to her. 

She nods and continues working on getting the tops of his blacks off. "You've put on some weight." She mumbles. "Has Hunter been giving you double rations?" She asks. 

He smiles. "He said he did it to you when you first joined." He raises his arms as she slips his shirt off, her fingers brushing his skin, it sends jolts of heat through him. He bites his lip to hold in his groan. 

"Told me I was too skinny. Wrecker also took it upon himself to make sure I slept more." She says. She leans forward and places a kiss over the metal implant in his chest before she moves to right above the prosthetic, kissing at the seam between metal and skin. She pulls back and gives him a grin before she removes the gauze from her hand, letting the blood pool in her hand again. He just stares down at it. "I'll clean it up and put some bacta on it. If there was another way I would have done it that way, by using my blood it makes the wards stronger. It protects you from..." She trails off and she looks down at her boots. 

"Did someone hurt you?" He asks softly. 

"One night, my father caught me healing one of my mother's patients. He tried to attack me, I ran. I went to Maud, she contacted the Jedi. Our village was attacked by our rivals to the north, my mother was fatally injured. I performed a spell to save someone else, using the rest of her life force. Someone told my father. He was ordered to kill me. He tried but Master Kafirm was already on planet. He saved me, took me in." She looks up at him. "If he finds out that I'm back he will make sure the job is done correctly this time. I'm stronger than I was before but that doesn't mean anything. He will keep trying until it's done. He will kill anyone in his way. I'm surprised Maud is even still alive. Maybe she never told anyone about her Jedi contact. I don't know. I can't risk your lives like that and blood magic is the strongest defense I have." She explains. 

Anger flashes through him. She had a family, a home but they betrayed her. They tried to kill her. He wants nothing more than to put a blaster bolt through the man's chest. You don't abandon your family, whether they're blood or not. She lets her eyes slip shut. "Let's get you warded up." She says. "Think of the runes protecting you, surrounding you. Imagine a barrier, keeping you safe." She says. 

The only thing he can think of is her, her protecting him. Standing in front of him with her blaster raised, in full armor. She's there for him in every sense of the words. Emotionally, physically. Her love is what protects him. She steps back as the runes begin to pulse a bright pink. "Woah." She steps away and pulls open her book. "I don't know what I did wrong. Are you okay?" She starts to panic.

"It's you. You are the thing that protects me." He tells her. 

"Echo, I-" She starts. 

"You've always been there. It just makes sense to me." He tries to explain. He reaches for her and drags her closer, pulling her into a kiss. " _Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum."_ He mumbles against her lips. 

He can feel her smile as she whispers back to him, _"Ni kar'tayl gar darasuum sa pirusti."_

He pulls away, "Let's get that cut cleaned up. Can't have you bleeding out on us." He reaches into the pocket in her belt and pulls out another gauze pad, pressing it into her hand. "I'll go get Hunter. He has both hands." Echo laughs nervously. 

\------------------------

On his way into the room, Hunter grabs Reaper's medpack. She stands in the middle of the room, her arms pulled in close to her like she's cold. "You okay?" He asks. 

"I can feel that we're close." She mumbles. 

"Exiting hyperspace!" Tech calls back to them. 

"See?" She says. 

"Let's get that cut wrapped up. Echo looked worried." He says opening her pack and pulling out a bacta patch and a roll of gauze. 

"You should be fine to put your armor back on." She says, "Unless you want to run this mission half-naked. I won't complain but Tithea is quite cold." Her grin returns to her face. 

"You would like that wouldn't you?" He wiped away the excess blood on her hand with an antiseptic wipe before pulling the bacta patch open. 

"I would get distracted. Have you seen how you look?" She motions to him. "Like a damn masterpiece." She mumbles under her breath. 

He laughs as he makes sure there aren't any bubbles in the patch before he wraps her hand tightly with the gauze. She reaches over and grabs her gloves after he wipes her other hand with the wipe. She slides them on. "This'll be okay, right? Just like any other mission?" He can feel her nervousness, her heartbeat is fast and her breathing is erratic, she's on the verge of a panic attack. 

He steps forward and wraps his arms around her. "Just like any other mission, hundred percent success rate." He tells her. He presses his hand against the back of her neck when she leans into him. He listens as her heart slows and her breathing evens back out. The smell of her fear gradually fades as she calms. "There you go." He presses his nose into her hair and plants a kiss there. 

"Entering the atmosphere!" Tech calls. 

She pulls away. "Get geared up." She tells him as she crouches and closes her medpack and shoves her book into it. She turns and grabs her helmet, sliding on her medpack. As she puts on her helmet she hears her mumble, "Just like any other mission."


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello all! Welcome to another part of Bad Batch and The Reaper! I was too excited to get the first chapter out that I forgot to put a note! Thank you for reading and leave me some feedback! Let me know what you think!

As soon as her boots meet the soft earth she can tell something is wrong, something feels... off. It makes her fingertips prickle and raises the hairs on the back of her neck. "We need to move, something's not right." She tells them. 

"The guides will be here soon," Tech says, looking at his handheld. 

She slowly turns, scanning the clearing, her grip on her blaster tightening. There's a rustle in some of the undergrowth and everyone pulls their weapons. "Relax! It's just us." A teenage boy pops out of the trees followed by a girl. Nobody relaxes, blasters still pointed at them. 

Hunter steps forward, "What do you want?" 

"Well, aren't you rude? We're your escort." The boy snarks. 

Finally, Hunter's grip loosens and his blaster falls to his side. The boy steps into the moonlight and holds his hand out to Hunter, "I'm Ferox." He grins.

\-----------------------

Hunter can tell as soon as the kid grins that lopsided grin that he is related to Reaper. He can bet that he also has the same dark green hair his sister does. When the kid extends his hand and introduces himself it confirms his suspicions, "I'm Ferox." 

Reaper goes ramrod straight and a gasp crackles over their comms, but she doesn't move from beside him. Hunter points to each of the members of the team, "Reaper, Tech, Wrecker, Crosshair, Echo. I think you may already know General Kafirm." 

"We do. It's nice to see you again Master." The girl steps forward, her hair is pale in the moonlight. "My name is Fleur." She gives a small smile.

Reaper makes a wounded noise. 

"We should get moving before the sun starts to rise. We'll get you to Maud's cottage." Ferox tells them. 

Hunter motions towards the forest. "Lead the way." 

\----------------------

She watches as her brother leads them into the ferns. Even through her helmets filters, she can smell the damp earth and trees. She wishes to take it off and inhale the cold air. 

Fleur hangs towards the back of the group, her eyes never stop scanning the dark wilderness. "You feel familiar." The girl turns towards her. 

She takes a breath. "I'm nobody, kid." She tries to make her voice a little rougher. 

"Everybody is someone." The girl says. "Everyone has a choice."

"Yea, who told you that?" She asks, she wants to know the response. 

"My older sister." The girl looks straight into her eyes like she knows exactly where they are under the visor. 

"I bet your ori'vod was really somethin." Wrecker chimes in, throwing an arm around the small girl's shoulders. 

Fleur looks at the ground for a moment. "She was." The moment of sadness melts off her face, "Ori'vod?" She asks. 

"Older sibling in Mando'a." Tech cuts in. 

"So, you guys are clones?" Ferox asks. "You don't look like clones, you're all different sizes." He points to Wrecker, "That guy can not be a clone. He's huge." He points to Reaper, "Is this one still growing?"

"Be nice to Reaper." Hunter points his gloved finger in the kid's chest.

"Why's his name Reaper?" Ferox sasses back. 

"He's a crappy medic." She can feel Crosshair rolling his eyes under his helmet.

"Oh gods." Ferox murmurs. It makes her laugh. 

"He's just like you," Hunter says over the private comm. 

"You mean he's a nosey asshole?" She shoots back. 

"See?" Hunter just laughs back at her.

"We need to be careful," Fleur says suddenly. "This area has a lot of hexes." She calls to Ferox.

"Hexes?" Tech asks her. 

"That means the attacks have been bad enough. Traps but with a punch. If you survive the initial trap, the hex will kill you not long after." She tells him.

Ferox stops and holds out his hands, palms facing the sky. He murmurs ancient words and the forest lights up around them. "This should help, just don't touch the glowing areas." 

"He's strong like you too," Hunter tells her. 

She double checks the private comm channel, "He's talented. Always has been." She looks at the team as they move through the forest, the glowing blue-white lights paint their armor in eerie ways, the skulls looking that much more ominous. They navigate the area carefully, winding through the ferns and undergrowth. 

Once they all pass the last light she can finally breathe again. "So you guys do a lot of these missions?" Ferox asks.

"We do shadow operations, missions that other clone squads aren't able to handle," Tech explains. 

"So you guys are special?" Ferox continues. 

"Somethin like that," Hunter replies. 

"We're coming up on the village. We need to be quiet." Fleur says.

Ferox nudges Crosshair with his elbow, "She's always trying to get me to shut up." 

She can sense when they enter the village's perimeter, the magic fills the air, it moves through her, soothes her soul. It feels like she can breathe again. A hand touches her lower back. "Are you alright?" Fleurs soft voice asks. She realizes that she stopped walking and the rest of the team is ahead of her. 

"I'm fine, kid." She says, brushing the girl off. She can tell that the girl is unconvinced. 

\------------------------

Fleur knows something is amiss with the smallest clone, he feels so familiar, she just can't place the signature, she knows the others have been warded but this one just feels different, the magic curls around him like he belongs on this planet. 

Reaper's helmet swivels around as Ferox leads them through the darkened village, almost like he's trying to see everything at once. 

When they come upon Maud's cottage the team hides on the side of the house in the garden when Ferox knocks on her door, the knocking and scratching pattern taught to him by Jedi Kafirm. 

Maud barely cracks open the door to see who's there and let's the two of them in. "They're hiding in the garden, I'll have them come around back." Ferox says as he moves through the cottage. 

Maud turns to her, "Did something go wrong?" She asks. 

"No, all seven of them are warded. One of them seems a little odd, Reaper." The girl relays. "He feels... familiar? Maybe? The magic bends strangely around him, I've only seen it with our own people." 

"From what I hear these clones were experiments. It's possible he's trained in our magic or has Tithean DNA. I wouldn't worry about it." The woman says. 

"Maud! It's wonderful to see you again!" The Jedi's warm voice fills the space around her. Maud reaches over and turns on a lamp. The Torgruta moves through her home and embraces her. 

"It's good to see you again, Rodak." Maud smiles before she looks over the six standing in her kitchen. "My, aren't they quite the team?"

\-----------------------------

Standing in Maud's kitchen is surreal. She remembers being here as a kid, her mother, and Maud making tea while Callum and Ferox ran around. 

"Come in, all of you. The sun will rise soon, we can't have them see you through the windows." The woman moves past them and closes the curtains over the sink. 

"Until sunrise, one of us needs to be on perimeter." Hunter orders. 

"I can manage that." Reaper cuts in. She needs some space, needs to process this a little more. 

"I will keep the Lieutenant company while everyone settles in. We aren't going anywhere until tonight." The Jedi nods to the others before leaving through the back door, guiding her out as well. He leads her back into the garden, "You're restless, my dear apprentice." He places his hands behind his back. 

"She sent Ferox and Fleur to be our guides. That means they're involved in this as well. If they're seen with me, they'll be killed." She hisses. "I should've listened to Echo, should've stayed behind." The doubt and fear seeps through her. She crouches behind the garden wall and scans the area. "Clear." She relays to Hunter. 

"Maud will be happy to see you again." The Jedi crouches beside her. 

She hears them before her HUD picks them up, two battle droids, a patrol. "Hunter, I have two droid patrols. B1s." She says. "I'm going to let them pass."

"Good, no reason to engage. We aren't here." Hunter's voice crackles over their comms. 

"The Separatists have been moving in. They run patrols all night. There hasn't been more than two or three out at a time." Master Kafirm tells her. 

"What about during the day?" She asks. 

"More numbers to intimidate, a lot of them are in the village center. The usual." He tells her. 

"Moving during the day is almost going to be impossible then. We'll be stuck inside until dusk." She murmurs. 

"All things we already knew." Her master says back. 

Just as the sun peaks over the horizon Hunter's voice bounces around her helmet, "She wants you two inside, something about breakfast." 

She moves low through the garden, the early light illuminating the herbs and veggies, the same ones Maud used to grow when she was a kid. Some things never change. 

When they enter the cottage the first thing she notices is Callum standing against the counter with Ferox. Callum has a frown on his face as he watches Tech look through the lines and lines of herb-filled jars on a shelf. 

"Come in, breakfast is almost ready!" Maud calls from the kitchen. 

She takes a look at each of their helmetless faces. Wrecker and Crosshair sit in the living room with Fleur and Echo helps Maud stir something in a pot. She gulps before she takes her place next to Hunter. 

"Take your helmet off." Ferox grins at her. 

"I- uh. I- I don't know about that." She stammers out, trying yet again to make her voice sound deeper. 

"You can't be as ugly as this guy." He hooks a thumb over at Echo. 

"Ay! That's not his fault!" Wrecker calls. 

"Kidding, kidding!" Ferox laughs. He turns to her, "I'm afraid he'll crush me." He whispers. 

"You can relax, we're safe here." Maud says. 

She gulps and squeezes her eyes shut. Her hands start to shake when she reaches up to pull off the only thing protecting her. When she pulls it off she stares at her reflection in the visor. Everything seems to go silent, the only thing she can hear is blood rushing in her ears and her pounding heart. 

A hand finds her face, it's green, almost the same color as her skin. The hand tips her head back and then retreats, "Oh, child." Maud coos. She can't look at the others in the room, she just stares at the woman in front of her. "We've missed you, Flora." 

"Flora?!" Ferox asks as he whips her around by the shoulder. His eyes search her face before he's crushing her into a hug. 

"He told us you died." Fleur's calm voice says. "We never believed him. Master Kafirm kept showing up to check on us after you and Mother died. Your body was never found after the attack."

She lets her brother try and smother her against him, he's taller now, about Hunter's height. "What happened?" He asks

"It's complicated." She says into Ferox's shirt. 

"It always is with Father." Fleur sighs. 

Ferox finally releases her, holding her at arm's length. "Tell us, please." He begs. 

She sighs herself, "This might take a while." 

\-----------------------

Ferox sits next to her on the floor. They sit in stunned silence after what she told them. "He tried to kill you." Ferox still can't believe it. The man who raised him, his own flesh and blood, tried to murder his own child just because he was threatened by her. 

Flora huffs out a laugh, "Tried." She looks down at her gloved hands, she looks almost ashamed. 

"He's been gone for a few weeks now. Something about negotiations with The Elders and Separatist leaders. We're not sure when he'll be back. This was the best time to get Maud and Callum out of here." Ferox explains. 

She nods along. "What about you two?" She asks. 

"We've been working to get the villages together. Venzor and Glossop have been working to take out as many droids as they can, Brombourne is stealing supplies." Ferox puffs his chest out proudly.

"The Elders aren't happy about that. I could feel them when we landed." Flora says. "This is the first time in over a thousand years that the villages are actually working together instead of against each other. When the people realize they're stronger it'll be all over for them."

"That's our goal," Fleur confirms. "It's working so far." 

A grin spreads on Flora's face, "My babies staging a rebellion. I'm proud of you." She laughs. She looks happy, relaxed around these men. He can't remember a time that she was this carefree, even if she's a soldier now. 

"Come on you three. Come eat." Maud calls them.

\---------------------

Reaper watches as Echo stares at his plate. Maud stands off to the side, her own plate in her hand as she watches Echo carefully. "We aren't used to actual food, ma'am. We survive mostly on field rations." Hunter explains. 

That gets Echo out of his stare and he finally takes a bite of the roasted fruit. His eyes grow wide, "You ate this as a kid?" He asks with his mouth full. 

"Everyone grows sweet squash in their gardens. It's a Tithean staple." She shrugs as she takes a bite. She's missed the food from her home, some may find it bland and simple but to her, it's a comfort. 

"This is amazing," Echo says dreamily. 

She smiles as she looks around the room, her family, her entire family, of old and new surround her. The cottage is warm and cozy just like she remembers, the air smelling of herbs and moss. It's perfect. 

Her blood runs cold when she hears it. A sharp knock at the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I changed the village name because I thought it sounded too much like a middle-class suburb instead of a village. Thanks for reading!


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Let me know what you think, good or bad, I love feedback!

She watches as everyone scatters, Crosshair and Echo crouch behind the couch, Wrecker and Tech move down the hall into one of the rooms, and Hunter ducks into the kitchen out of sight. 

Maud looks at her as she plasters herself just out of sight by the door, pulling her sidearm and nodding to the woman to open the door. 

"Torrin! It's nice to see you. How was your trip?" Maud asks. She grips her blaster tighter at the mention of her father's name. Of course, he would come back today. 

"Is Ferox here? He has training. He can't be missing sessions." His voice is harsh and cold, it's like he's talking to a wall and not his late wife's best friend. 

"I haven't seen him today. It's still early though, he might turn up. I'll let him know if I see him." Maud flashes him a tight smile. 

"The boy is just like his sister was. Fleur takes after her mother, thank The Elders." He spits. 

She slowly slides her blaster back into its holster before letting her eyes drift closed, she lets her emotions course through her, the anxiety, fear, and anger. Her hands slowly glow to life, a blazing warm white. Maud looks over at her for a split second. 

A second too long, "Do you have company?" Her father asks. 

"I think I have a mouse. That's all." She says with a smile. 

"If you see Ferox please send him my way." Her father says. 

"Of course, Torrin. Not a problem." Maud closes the door and presses her back against it taking a breath. "Well, that's going to be an issue." She says. 

"Were you going to kill him?" Callum asks. 

"I mean-" Reaper stutters. 

"She's killed for less." Crosshair says as he stands. 

"What? You've killed people?!" Ferox asks. 

Reaper looks between her brother and sister. "I'm a Republic commando. It's in the job description." 

Fleur's face falls but she doesn't say anything. 

"What are we going to do with our issue?" Hunter says as he comes around the corner. "That man is tied in with the Separatists. If he alerts them to us we won't be able to get off the planet." He crosses his arms. 

"I'm more worried about them." Maud motions to the twins. "If he finds out they're involved he will kill them with no remorse," She says. 

"If we have to we will take them with us." Master Kafirm says. 

"We can't! The other villages!" Ferox argues. 

"Ferox, if he finds out, you're dead. You're safest with us, under Republic protection." Reaper steps forward. 

"Your sister is right. The Republic helped her, they can help you as well." Hunter adds. 

"You want us to leave our home? Our friends and family?" Fleur finally speaks up. 

"He isn't your family." Reaper growls. "He tried to kill me. He threatened our mother. He spends weeks at a time away. You're better off without him." 

Her sister's face twists into a scowl. "He's our father. He's all we have left."

She doesn't let it show how deep those words cut. She puts on a neutral face, "You want to stay here, be my guest. You won't ever see me or Ferox again, we are not authorized to contact anyone on a Separatist controlled planet. I will put him into protection with Maud and Callum and he'll be as good as dead to you." She says, she's done enough of these missions to know the regs like the back of her hand. "Do you really want to lose your brother?" 

Fleur shifts her weight from foot to foot and she pulls on her icy blue hair. Hunter steps up, "You have until dusk to decide." His voice is just as hard as Reaper's was. "We need to discuss how we're getting out of here and then we should get some rest. I have a feeling tonight's going to be hell." 

\-----------------------

Hunter watches the young girl as she talks quietly with her twin. She's so different from her brother and sister, not only in looks, her hair an icy blue and her skin a darker shade of green than either of them but also in attitude, she's calm, collected, he can tell she doesn't rush into things without thinking them through. If Reaper was more like her he knows the others would have kicked her to the curb before she even got a chance to be on the team. 

"She's just like her mother was," Maud says. "She had to think over everything before she did it. It made her a fantastic healer." 

"So I've heard." Hunter looks over at the woman as she watches the two teenagers from her place at the table next to him. 

"Does she talk about them often?" Maud asks. 

"No, she's mentioned them maybe twice. Her parents anyway. She talks about the twins more." He tells the woman. 

Maud sighs, "She helped raise them, Ferox picked up a lot of her fighting spirit, Fleur learned what not to do, she became the perfect child for her father. If she doesn't leave I'm afraid of what will happen." 

General Kafirm comes in from the garden, "Everything is still clear. A couple of patrols but nothing we can't handle." He reports. 

Maud just nods. "I'm needed at the village center soon, it's just for a meeting with some of the other trackers, they've been keeping tabs on most of the Separatist leaders. If I miss it they'll get suspicious." She says. 

"We can't let you do that, ma'am." Hunter starts. 

"What if she went with an escort?" General Kafirm suggests. 

"An escort? None of us are green." Crosshair buts in. 

"One of us is." Reaper perks up. "You got any extra clothes? I could go with you. Father isn't a tracker, there wouldn't be any need for him to be there. It would be nice to have that intel as well." She crosses her arms over her chest. 

"I doubt anyone would recognize you. We could tell them you're from another village, Glossop perhaps, they've been sending a few people to help out." Maud stands, "Follow me." She waves Reaper into one of the back rooms. 

\------------------------

She looks like a whole new person, the dark colors are just what she remembers, the skirt is full and the cloak is warm. "What about the scar?" Tech asks. "Won't they recognize it?" 

Maud stands in front of her and ties the cloak tighter together ensuring the closure covers her neck. "Just keep this tight and no one will know." The woman smiles. 

"This is a bad idea," Hunter tells them. 

"I'll take my sidearm and a commlink. I'll leave it on, if anything happens you'll know. Promise." She tells him as she grabs her utility belt and clasps it over the waistline of her skirt, the blaster and holster are hidden well by the heavy cloak. 

"That doesn't make me feel any better," Hunter grumbles before he leaves the room. 

Echo takes his place, "Just relax, take it slow, hang back a bit. We'll be listening the whole time. If anything happens we come in blasters ready." He places a hand on her shoulder, thumb rubbing soothing little circles into the cloak. 

"We should get moving," Maud tells her. She nods and follows her through the cottage and through the front door, the air hangs low with the mist. The smell is almost overwhelming without her helmet. 

She clicks on her comm, "Tech, can you hear me?" She asks. 

_"Loud and clear."_ His voice returns. 

She lets her arm drop as she walks with Maud through the village, everything is almost the exact same. People bustle about, some on their way to the market or heading out to the forests to collect plants. A tooka chases a group of chickens. "We have a tooka. Her name is Glitch, Tech found her in an alley on Courscant." She tries to make conversation so they don't look suspicious. 

Maud looks over to her, "Where do you keep her?" 

"This is our first mission with her, we left her on the ship. I bet she's asleep on Hunter's pillow right now." She shrugs. 

"The Sargent seemed worried. More than a squad leader." Maud again looks over at her, this time there's a spark of mischief in her eyes. 

She really doesn't need the woman she considers her second mother to be asking these questions. "Hunter? Pshh, no." She tries. 

"No? Alright, what about the one with only one arm? Echo? Hmm, what about him?" She continues to push.

"I worked with Echo before I worked with Force 99. We just have a closer bond. We trust each other." Reaper tells her, it's not wrong. 

The woman just laughs at her, "And I'm supposed to believe there's nothing going on with Crosshair? I saw him whispering in your ear, you were blushing. Or what about the techy one? He was touching you an awful lot?" 

Reaper's eyes widen, "I uh- um-" 

_"This is painful to listen to. She's involved with the whole team."_ Hunter's voice cuts over the comm. 

" _Sargent!"_ She hisses into her comm. 

"It would be hard not to get 'involved' with them. They are all incredibly good looking, even Echo, despite what Ferox may say." Maud jeers. 

"Please, can we move on from this conversation?" Reaper asks hiding her face in her hands. 

"For now, we are almost there." Maud's voice drops in volume. 

Her fingers twitch to reach for her blaster as they come into view of multiple battle droids, her eyes scan the area, a group of people stand under the great willow with their heads bowed. "We try to make it look like a prayer circle, the droids won't question a religious ceremony." She's right, if the people aren't causing any issues they won't attack, at least not this early in the invasion. She nods and pulls the hood of her cloak farther forwards. 

"Getting to the center now," She relays to the others quietly. 

"Maud! Come join us!" A man calls to her. "Who's your guest?" She recognizes him as Osran Bloodgood, one of her mother's friends.

"This is Cinder, she's here from Glossop." Maud calmly explains. 

"Cinder, it's great to have you here." Osran pats her on the shoulder. "We were just getting started. She's all yours, Marden." 

Another man steps forward, he's broad and tall, a beard covers his face. "Welcome. Let's get down to business, how are the droids today, what do we have for numbers?"

Maud clears her throat before speaking, "We saw two patrol units just before sunrise, nothing we can't handle but it will start to get worse." 

A young woman steps forward, she couldn't have been more than twenty standard years, "A ship touched down in a clearing about two kilometers from here during the night. From what I saw it's unmarked, not the typical Separatist vessel we've seen coming and going." 

"It's a Republic ship. They're here to survey the numbers and are to report back tonight." Maud tells them. 

"So we may be getting some help?" Someone else speaks up.

"We don't want their help, those clones will bulldoze anything in their paths to get a victory. We're doing fine on our own." Marden replies gruffly. 

She shivers at the man's words, if the GAR gets involved it's usually because the planet can no longer help themselves. "We have the numbers and the means for now. They'll see that and they won't bother yet." She tells them. 

"Maud, you said this one was from Glossop?" Marden asks. 

The woman nods, "Correct." 

The man looks at her before he turns his attention back to the group. The meeting continues as they talk about troop movements and supply ships, they conclude with a report from each village, luckily for her someone from Glossop is already there. 

As they walk back to the cottage she can tell someone is following them, "Maud, someone's on us." She growls and places her hand over her blaster. 

"Relax, don't do anything you're going to regret." The woman whispers. 

"Cinder! Maud!" Marden's voice rings out. 

Maud puts on a smile. "Marden, what can we do for you?" She turns to the man. 

If Reaper didn't work with someone like Wrecker she would be intimidated by the sheer size of the man standing before them. "You're not from Glossop." The man volleys right away. 

She pulls back her cloak and flashes her blaster with a scowl. "No, I'm not." 

"You're with the Republic team, it's rare to see one of our own leave." He crosses his arms over his chest. "The last one to leave was the Grimm's child, Flora. Do you happen to know her?"

She clutches her blaster tighter under her cloak. "No sir. I can't say that I've met her." She lies. 

"That's too bad, you know she would have the same scar on her neck that you have. If she survived that is." The man looks her up and down again. "Rumor has it she got away with a Jedi. The same one that was seen in your garden this morning, Maud." His head swivels towards Maud. 

She steps in front of Maud and pulls her blaster, "What do you want?" She says through gritted teeth. 

"What are your real orders?" He asks, not at all phased by the blaster. 

"I am not authorized to tell you that information." She says calmly. 

"It's nice to see you play for the right side, Flora." The man says. "When does your team leave?"

"I'm not authorized to give out that information." She repeats. 

"So be it, they turned you into a good little soldier." He turns to Maud, "Whenever you leave, good luck. We'll cast a spell for you." He tells the woman before he turns on his heel and goes back towards the village center.

" _What the hell was that?!"_ Hunter's gruff voice asks. 

"Nothing I couldn't handle." She holsters her blaster, "We're on our way back." 

_"You better be."_ His voice is harsh, scolding. 

\-----------------

Echo watches as Hunter paces angrily. "I knew this was a bad idea." He grumbles. 

"She retrieved vital information that will help us in the long run." Echo tries to reason with him.

"They know who she is!" Hunter stops in front of him. 

"He won't expose her to anyone. If he's leading the rebels in this sector like I think he is, he won't. He's smarter than that." Echo explains. 

The door opens and Reaper and Maud step through, bringing in a gust of cold, wet air. Hunter stalks his way over to her, "You could have been killed. What if someone else recognized you?" 

"They're rebels. If they know what's good for them they won't turn in the one person that can get them help." The medic explains calmly, he's heard her use that voice with CO's that are worried for their troops. 

She calmly unfastens her cloak and hangs it on the hook by the door. "I'm going to go get changed." She mutters. 

Echo follows her into the back room where her armor is, "What happened out there?" He asks her. 

"The man leading the meeting recognized me, he's one of the best trackers the village has, Marden Frost. It was a risk we had to take." She tells him as she strips down to her blacks. 

"Try telling that to Hunter." Echo huffs. 

"He didn't want us separated, especially on a planet like this where we can't properly defend ourselves." She tells him as she pulls on her armor piece by piece. "Are Callum and Ferox still on board with leaving?" 

Echo nods, "Yes."

She turns to look at herself in a mirror, "Good. The sooner we're off this planet the better." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Another chapter posted! It feels good to be back at it. 
> 
> I hope you all are safe and sound and stay that way!


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> TW: MURDER, BLOOD, VIOLENCE, BODY HORROR this is a very dark chapter, the darkest thing I've written so just be careful.

_Lightning flashes overhead and thunder booms, someone is screaming for her to run. The being stops just short of the forest, eyes glowing sickly green, skin mottled in shades of grey. She stands her ground as the storm rages around her, she turns and lets the magic flow through her. This being is ancient, powerful, stronger than anything she's ever felt. The being raises a single hand and the light blinds her._

"Something's coming!" She bolts awake, hands outstretched, magic coursing through her veins. She tries to catch her breath and calm the racing of her heart as everyone stares. 

"I've felt it too. It's ancient and dark." Master Kafirm tells them. 

Tech and Wrecker kneel beside her, "Are you alright?" Tech asks, his hands reaching for her outstretched fingers.

"I- I think I had a vision." She looks to her master, the one person who might know what's going on. She lets Tech rub soothing circles into her wrists as she tries to calm herself. "It's like they were in my head like they were warning me."

"A good or bad warning?" Wrecker asks. 

"Bad, bad very very bad." She stammers out. She turns to Maud, "There's a storm on the way. We- we need to leave before it gets here." 

"Hey! Hey, calm down!" Hunter drops in front of her. "Slow down, what did you see?" 

"The storm, I think you were yelling for me to run. It stopped just before we hit the forest. It's skin- it was horrible, grey, thin, it looked like a walking skeleton. Its eyes were glowing green. I stopped and faced it, it raised it's hand before the light blinded me." She tries to explain.

"It's one of The Elders. Father has described them to us." Fleur tells them. 

"General, what do we know about The Elders?" Tech asks. 

"Next to nothing. They control the planet but that's all we know, rumor has it that they're over a thousand years old, but no one survives long enough to get any information about them." Master Kafirm tells them. 

"Only one person from each of the original villages is allowed contact. They start when they hit adolescence and continue to serve them until they die." Reaper explains. 

"Father knows. Is there a way to make him tell us?" Ferox asks. 

"We don't have time for torture. We need to get out of here." Crosshair rolls his eyes. 

"Torture? What is wrong with you people?!" Ferox's jaw drops. 

"Ferox and Fleur, go get what you need. We need to get moving." Maud orders calmly.

"I'm coming with you." Reaper slips on her medpack and secures her blaster before shoving her helmet on her head. "I won't let you face him alone." She tells them. She won't let them share the same fate with her. 

"I'll come as well." Master Kafirm says. When Reaper's helmet turns to him he gives her a smile, "Just in case you need backup." She nods. 

"Let's get moving, as soon as we step out into the daylight we're going to get some attention." She tells them. 

"Lead the way, sis." Ferox motions to the door. 

They rush out the door and the wind hits them full force, the storm is coming faster than she thought, the dark clouds rolling towards the village. 

People stop and stare as they run through the streets, some of them shout and others cling to their children. A clone and a Jedi are synonymous throughout the galaxy at this point in time, the danger is here or it's close enough for them to need to worry. 

" _Comm check."_ Tech's voice bounces around her helmet. 

"Reaper." 

" _Echo."_

_"Wrecker."_

_"Hunter."_

_"Crosshair._ " Each of them rattles off. 

" _I'm sending Cross and Tech ahead to get the ship ready. The rest of us will meet you at the edge of the forest."_ Hunter orders. 

She knows that's a mistake, she should tell them to go to the ship. To leave as soon as they're able, but she knows they won't listen, it's either all of them or none of them, that's always been the deal. 

"I can feel your fear." Master Kafirm tells her. 

"An ancient creature is making it's way towards us right now. No one has ever survived an encounter with them. My team is split up. I have a right to be at least a little bit afraid!" She barks back at him. 

The cottage comes into view and she almost stops in her tracks, in their haste she didn't even have time to think about the fact that she was going back home, the place where she grew up. The last time she had been here her mother was still alive. The outside hasn't changed much, the ivy stained white stone stands, the same stone makes up the wall of the garden. 

"He's still here." Ferox yells to them over the thunder, the rain has just started, splattering against her helmet in big, fat drops. 

"I'll take care of him! Just get what you need!" Reaper yells. 

She watches as the twins run up the steps and open the door, her and Master Kafirm following closely behind. 

"Ferox, Fleur! What is the meaning of this?!" Her father's voice barks out. 

She tries to remain calm, "We're just here to get some of their personal effects." She lowers her voice. 

"What?! Where are you going?!" Her father yells out to the twins. 

Master Kafirm steps forwards, "Sir, we will be taking them off the planet. Along with a few others from the village." He tells the man. 

"No! Absolutely not!" Her father tries to argue and moves to go after them. 

She stands in his way, pointing her blaster at his chest, "I can't let you do that, sir." She tries to keep the shake out of her voice as she faces down the man. 

His eyes blaze bright as his hands start to glow, "Move out of my way. Before I make you move." He growls. 

Master Kafirm moves behind her taking her blaster and medpack, "Give him hell." He snarls into her audial. 

She reaches up and breaks the seal on her helmet, letting it clatter to the wood floor. "I won't let you hurt them like you hurt me," She takes a defensive stands as her hands start to glow. 

Her father starts, "You," He growls, he swings at her, fists blazing.

She puts up a shield, "Stand down!" She calls. 

With a snarl the man relents. "You're stronger than before, daughter." 

"I won't let you hurt them." Her voice shakes as she lowers her shields. "Any of them." 

"Look at you. You think you can protect them. That makes you weak." He volleys another attack at her, this time she sends a blast towards him. "Are you going to kill me, child? Like you killed your mother?" This makes her see red, she funnels all of her anger into her next strike. It hits him square in the chest and he goes skittering back several feet, clutching his chest, he stumbles to his knees. His magic flickers as he laughs. "You couldn't even finish the job. That's too bad, you know what's coming." 

She wants to end his life, she wants to end the suffering for all of the people in this village, on this planet, but she knows she shouldn't. She moves towards him, crouching so they're face to face. "Give me a reason." She snarls.

"You were always too weak. You're nothing." He regards her with disgust, "Just a scared little girl running around in a suit of armor." He spits at her. "Your mother would be so disappointed." A wicked grin twists his face, his icy blue hair hangs in his eyes. "A disgrace to-" 

She cuts him off, shoving her glowing fist through his chest. He looks at her, his eyes full of fear. "Turns out I didn't need one." Blood drips onto the floor in a steady stream, "Goodbye, Father." She stands as the life leaves his body, the magic fades from his eyes as he slumps down to the floor. 

She turns to her master, who stands there with an unreadable expression on his face. He holds out her blaster and helmet for her. She takes it and places the helmet back on her head. Thunder rolls overhead, louder, closer. "We need to get moving!" She calls to the twins. 

Fleur stops dead in her tracks when she notices the blood dripping off of her glove, "You killed him." Her whisper is laced with pain. She lets her bag fall to the floor as she stares at her father's body. "You killed him!" She looks to Reaper, anguish on her face. 

"We need to get moving, young one." Master Kafirm steers her towards the door. 

Ferox comes running out of the backroom, stuffing books into his bag. His breath hitches when he sees the bloodied body but he doesn't say anything, just follows Master Kafirm out the door and into the rain. 

She stands for a moment in the quiet of the house before she's moving towards the old trunk in the corner, flinging it open and rifling through it, the book is still there. She grabs it, wrapping it in cloth before she scoops up the rune stones and shoves them into the pockets on her belt when the trunk is empty she stands and takes one more look around before she too follows the other three out into the rain.

\----------------------------

Hunter can feel deep in his guts. It feels different than a Jedi, different than Reaper. It's dark, evil. He's heard of the evil creatures that roam the galaxy, he's even met a few, but this is different. Terror seeps deep into his bones. He sits just inside the tree line, waiting, for Reaper or the monster that's coming. Wrecker stands in the rain where the others will be able to see him. Maud and Echo stand under a large fern, shielding themselves from the incoming weather.

Four figures break over the horizon, moving quickly. The Jedi and the three Grimm siblings. They run through the rain, looking over their shoulders. He can tell that something is coming, the creature is close.

General Kafirm and the twins run right for them while Reaper continues to look over her shoulder. Then he sees it, a thin humanoid shape, draped in grey and black following them. 

_"Sarge, we need more time."_ Tech's voice crackles over the comm, the interference with the storm making him seem distant.

"We don't have time, Tech!" He growls. 

The twins and the Jedi come crashing into the undergrowth and Reaper skids to a stop over the wet grass, her back facing them, "What are you doing?!" He yells to her. 

"You need more time! Go! Get to the ship! I'll be right behind you!" She calls over the wind. 

No, No, NO! She can't. That thing is going to kill her, he can feel it. 

She looks back at the twins and Maud, "Ferox, get them out of here! Please!" She calls to her brother. 

The boy steps in front of Hunter, Maud in front of Wrecker and Fleur in front of Echo, "Sargent, we have to go." Ferox tells him. 

"I'm not leaving her!" Hunter sounds frantic as he watches the creature get closer, it's face is sunken and skin mottled. He tries to fight the boy, tries to push past him when he casts a shield in front of them both. "She'll die!"

"Hunter, calm down!" Echo's voice makes his ears ring. He can't feel it, he can't feel the darkness radiating off the thing. It stops several meters from where Reaper stands. 

Hunter slams his fists against the wall of magic in front of him, "Flora! Please! Run!"

\--------------------

"Flora! Please! Run!" Hunter's voice echoes through her. It's what he was screaming in her vision. 

"Get them out here! Get them to the ship!" She calls back to them. "If I'm not there in two minutes, leave! Save yourselves!" She knows that they won't listen but maybe Maud or Fluer can convince them otherwise.

"NO!" Hunter screams. 

"GO!" She screams to her brother, who finally manages to wrestle Hunter into the overgrowth and towards the ship. She can't think about them right now, she needs to focus on the monster in front of her.

A smile stretches across its gaunt face. "You're strong, child. Stronger than most. I will give you one chance to join us." The creature's words echo across the grass.

"I won't." She tells it as she drops into a fighting stance, "Never." 

"So be it." The monster raises it's boney hand, just like in her vision. 

She throws up a shield as the light blinds her. "I won't let you hurt them!" 

"You don't have much of a choice, my dear." It's a feminine voice.

Lightning splits the sky above, thunder cracking, rain pelts against her helmet, soon the hail will start. The wind rips around her as she lowers her shield. "Why are you doing this?" 

"Your family is strong. Stronger than anything we've ever seen. Your father failed us, he left you and your siblings alive. You'll pay for his mistakes." The creature bares its teeth as it aims another blast at her. 

She throws up her shield just as the blast reaches her, she pushes against it, her boots sliding in the mud. She grits her teeth against the force and tries to hold on. Just a little bit longer, just long enough for them to escape. The blast finally dissipates and she straightens out. "You're not getting to them." 

"I'm impressed. No one has ever survived this long." The beast snarls, it's eyes glowing a malicious green. 

She can feel the power building around it. She mumbles under her breath, the ancient cantations activating the wards painted onto her, and the rest of the team's chest. She desperately hopes this works. She can feel their life forces as the wards activate, they're all safe, their lights glowing brightly. 

The beast winds up for another blast, this time she doesn't put up a shield, instead letting the magic flow through her as she charges. She creates an X with her hands, focusing on the fear and uncertainty that courses through the rest of them, that courses through her. When she pulls her hands to her sides she screams. A warcry. The wave knocks the beast off balance and she charges forward, fists glowing, she swings at the beast and forces it back a few steps. 

"Do you think this will stop me, child?" It asks. "I've been around for thousands of years. You can not defeat me." The beast raises it's hand again, she watches as the magic snakes it's way across the grass. 

She tries to brace for the blast but it's too late, the force of the wave cracks her HUD, casting her into darkness. The plastoid cracks and splinters, the shards bury themselves into her skin. She cries out and falls to her knees. She rips off her ruined helmet and lets it fall through her fingers into the grass. She lifts her head to stare the beast down, chest heaving, blood running down her face and into her eyes, "I won't let you have them." She grunts out. "I would rather die." She watches as the wards glow to life, the light glowing through the cracks in her armor.

The monster takes a step back. "Those wards are forbidden!" She can hear the fear in its voice. "You should be dead!"

"Soon you'll be dead instead." Her face cracks into a grin as she watches the magic snake it's way over the grass and through the air towards the creature, they worked, her mother's wards worked. 

The beast lets out a blood-curdling howl when the light touches it. The light blinds her, the same light that was in the vision. She lets her head fall for a moment before she gets up, scooping up the remainder of her helmet and stumbling through the undergrowth towards the clearing.

As she gets closer, her vision blurs and her ears ring, she's losing too much blood. She continues to run, not stopping as her face throbs and the hail starts to fall. She can hear the others as the trees start to thin. She stumbles through the tree line and into the clearing where she falls to her knees. She pushes herself back to her feet and tries to wipe away the blood and rain from her eyes. 

"Flora!" Someone rushes towards her, the crimson and grey being the only clue. 

She tries to wipe at the blood but a hand stops her, "It's gone. It's dead." She manages through labored breaths, her hands blindly reaching out to the person. 

"Let's get you inside." The person tells her, "I'll have Tech take a look at ya." 

She nods and stumbles again. "The others, are they okay? The twins? Maud?" She frantically asks. 

"They're fine. We need to worry about you right now." It's Hunter's voice, she finally realizes. He scoops her up when she stumbles again, she lets her head loll against his chest plate. 

\----------------------

When she breaks through the treeline he can't help the fact that he rushes forwards calling her name. She stumbles and falls to her knees and that's when he sees and smells the blood that's dripping off of her face and falling to the ground beneath her. She stands and wipes her hand over her eyes, trying to clear the blood and rainwater from her field of vision. 

She blindly reaches for him, trying to wipe more of the blood away. Hunter reaches out and grabs her hand, stopping her. He can't tell where she's bleeding from there's so much blood. Her breathing is labored as she speaks, "It's gone, it's dead."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was a horrible place to stop but it would have been super long and its 425 am and I should sleep. I've got a lot of the next chapter written already, it'll be fun.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW!!: BLOOD, a lot of it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading this trainwreck it makes me happy! Leave me some feedback, good or bad doesn't matter to me.

"Let's get you inside." He slides his arm around her waist, trying to guide her. "I'll have Tech take a look at ya." He knows that there's too much damage for Tech to do anything now. She's going to need a bacta tank, he isn't even sure if the rest of her is okay. 

She stumbles again, "The others, are they okay? The twins? Maud?" She asks, her voice strained and frantic. 

He stoops and picks her up bridal style. "They're fine, we need to worry about you right now." Her head lolls against his chest plate and he can finally see the damage, her shattered helmet hangs from her fingers, several shards of the plastoid are lodged in her face. The pieces vary in size and depth, they wouldn't be able to remove them themselves, something could have been damaged. 

He runs her into the ship, "Tech!" He calls for his youngest brother. 

When Tech pops out of the cockpit he freezes for a moment, his eyes growing wide. "Wrecker! I'm going to need you!" He calls over his shoulder as he rushes to her. "General, do you still have her medpack?" He asks the Jedi. 

The Jedi silently hands over the medpack before he disappears into the cockpit. Hunter gently deposits her into one of the seats as Tech rushes around pulling out supplies. There's so much blood, too much blood. She reaches up a shaky hand to wipe at the blood on her face, but he again stops her, "Can't have you doing that, Princess." He tells her softly, taking her hands in his. She's so small, so vulnerable in this state. She stares blankly at him, blinking away what she can. 

Hunter looks over his shoulder to see Crosshair standing there, face pale. His eyes are glued to the puddle of blood pooling underneath her, he swallows before he speaks, "That's- that's a lot of blood." It's bad if Cross is losing his cool. 

"Cross, go help the General, get us off this planet." Hunter orders in a firm voice, it's what Crosshair needs, an order, something to keep his mind occupied and off of the current nightmare. Crosshair nods and retreats. 

Tech nudges Hunter away from Reaper, "We have 'er, Sarge." Hunter takes a few steps back, he lets himself fall to the cold, durasteel floor. Wrecker takes his place, a roll of gauze in hand. 

"Hunter." A voice permeates through the ringing in his ears. "Sargent." He finally tears his eyes off of her to see Echo crouching next to him. "Take a deep breath." Echo orders. Hunter tries to remember the breathing exercises he was taught. _In, 2, 3, 4. Hold 2, 3, 4. Out, 2, 3, 4._ "There you go. Relax. She's going to be just fine. Tech has her and The General is already looking for a cruiser to rendezvous with. She'll be alright." 

\-----------------------

Tech tries to survey the damage, tries to look for pieces that he can pull out but he knows it's no use. He's just going to have to wrap her face and hope they make it to the cruiser in time. He takes some gauze and tries to sop up some of the blood in between shards. There's blood dropping off of her armor onto the floor, he tries to ignore the drips that sound like shots being fired, the more blood she loses the more damage will be done to her brain. 

Wrecker holds her head up, tilting it towards the light. He whispers to her but Tech can't tell what he's saying to her. Her eyes flash open after he clears away enough of the blood. Her colorful eyes are full of fear and panic. "You'll be just fine, Flora." Tech uses her first name, that's what she always does when any of them are injured, she's always sure to use their names.

"Where are the twins, where's Maud and Callum? Are they safe?" She slurs. 

Tech briefly looks over his shoulder to the twins, Ferox is watching closely, his sister clutches at his hand. Maud sits nearby, chewing her fingernails nervously. "They're all fine." He tells her. 

Tears cut tracks through the blood smeared on her face, "Thank the gods," Flora whispers, she sounds so relieved. 

"Let's get you fixed up, Speck. Then you can worry about them." Wrecker tells her. 

She just nods, her eyes fluttering closed and her body going lax, "Damnit! Cross! Have you found a cruiser yet?!" Tech starts to panic, she's losing too much blood. 

"Calculating hyperspace jump now!" Crosshair yells back. 

"Isn't there anything you can do?" Ferox asks. 

"We're trying our best but if we remove the shards she could bleed out if they've hit an artery," Tech explains. He turns to Wrecker, "Let's get her wrapped up." Wrecker nods and starts wrapping the gauze around her head. 

"So, we just have to wait until we get there? She could die!" Ferox exclaims. 

Tech tries to remain calm, he's well aware of what will happen if they can't get there in time. He continues to wrap her head, securing the gauze with tape where he can. 

"Do any of you even care?" A smaller voice asks, Fleur. She's angry. 

Tech stands and turns on her, "Of course we care! We're doing what we can at the moment. Now please, sit down and let us work." When he turns back to Reaper and Wrecker he knows he shouldn't have snapped at her, she's concerned about her sister. He looks down at the blood on his hands, the black drips off of his fingertips and onto the floor, "I won't let her die, just stay out of our way." 

\---------------------------

Wrecker looks over the battered woman, the bleeding has slowed, for now, her breaths are even and deep. He reaches into her pack for the scanner, pulling it out and quickly scanning the rest of her, a concussion and some bruising in her ribs, all easy fixes, they just have to worry about her face. The shards have missed her eyes somehow, maybe it's a miracle, he doesn't know. He's worried about the scars that are going to be left behind, how people will look at her when she's out of armor like she's damaged goods. It's how they look at him. 

She stirs, rolling her head from side to side before she slumps back over. When he takes a step back he realizes just how much blood she has lost, the puddle has become tacky beneath his boots. Tech makes his way back to his side, looking down at his hands, "This is going to be difficult to clean up." He sighs. 

Wrecker merely nods in agreement, at least she's alive for the moment. 

\---------------------------

Crosshair sits in the copilot's seat, all of his muscles tense. The image of plastoid pieces sticking out of her face is burned into his retinas, every time he blinks he relives it. This is why he leaves every time someone is hurt. 

"You're afraid." The Jedi flips a few switches as he readies the ship for hyperspace. "She's strong. She'll be alright." He says it with such casual ease, like the whole situation doesn't bother him one bit. 

"How do you know that?" Crosshair asks. 

"She's been in this exact position before, she was alone then. Now she has you five. She'll fight to survive so she can see you again." General Kafirm tells him. He sighs, "She would have never been a good Jedi, she loves too deeply. Cares too much," 

Crosshair blinks at him, "That's a bad thing?" 

"For her, no not at all. She's what I wish the Jedi were, kind, caring, compassionate. Too many of us are detached from our emotions now, we need to remember to feel." He tells him, he presses a few more buttons, "Preparing for hyperspace jump. Master Fisto will be happy to help and ready to receive us."

Crosshair watches as the stars blur around them, soon she'll be okay. 

\---------------------------

Echo stands off to the side with Maud and her son. They watch from afar as everyone starts to calm down a bit, "She'll be okay, right?" Callum asks. 

"She will be eventually. There's nothing she can't handle." Echo says. 

"She's always been incredibly resilient and resourceful. I'm surprised her plan worked, it was clever." Maud stares at the woman slumped over. 

"The symbols, they glowed for a moment. What did she do?" Echo asks. 

"She drew power from the wards, they told her that each of you were safe, she drew strength from that. It's an old spell from her mother's book. How she managed it is beyond me, it's used by powerful witches and their covens, a mix of a few different magics. She must have supplemented the symbols with runes, that's my guess." She shrugs. 

They fall quiet, and Echo edges his way towards the twins. Fleur looks up at him but doesn't say anything, a tight frown on her lips. He finally is able to get a good look at the girl, she hardly looks like her sister at all, her hair is braided back, the icy blue contrasts with her green skin. Her eyes are the only thing he can see of Wildflower, everything else is muddled with someone else. 

"Alright, I'll bite." Ferox speaks up, now he looks like his sister, a wide crooked grin is plastered on his face, his hair is the same dark green as hers, closely cropped on the sides and back and longer on the top, flopping onto his forehead. 

Echo raises his eyebrows in question.

"What happened to your arm?" The boy asks. 

Does he just want to know what happened to his arm? What about the rest of him? Echo stares at the kid for a moment longer, "Explosion." He answers. 

The boy nods and looks towards where Hunter, Tech, and Wrecker are hovering over Wildflower. "So, what's the deal with this team? None of you actually look like the clones in the holos. Or do they only show the perfect ones?" 

Echo huffs, "There's no such thing as an imperfect clone. Defective clones never make it off Kamino." 

The kid balks at him, "Defective? How can a person be defective?" 

"The _Kaminiis_ see us as products, we are produced by them so therefore we are owned by them." Echo explains, his tone bitter.

"You're people. That would make you slaves to The Republic." Ferox's voice raises a bit. 

"Shh, don't wake up Wildflower, she needs her rest." Echo hushes the boy. "We're all defective in some shape or form, the only difference is that these clones' mutations make them stronger, each of their mutations benefits the team but without all of us we wouldn't be able to fight the way we do." He explains. 

"Flora, she's your medic right? That's what that symbol on her arm means?" Ferox points to his sister's pauldron. "Why did they choose her?"

"She was assigned to this team because there was nowhere left for her go. This is her fourth assignment. She's different just like we are." Echo smiles a little, just for the briefest of moments. 

"She's the glue, isn't she?" The boy has a sad smile on his face, "I was hoping she would come back with us and stay, but you need her. You're her family now." 

Echo looks at her. "She's our home." 

The boy groans, his playful demeanor back, "Oh gods! You love her!" 

Echo laughs, "I mean yeah, how could I not?" 

Ferox throws his head back with another loud groan, "We're done with this conversation." 

\------------------------

Fleur stares at her sister's slumped figure, her face wrapped in white gauze, blood is still pooled around her and smeared onto her men's armor. Her blood, it looks just like what was dripping off of her gloved hand in the cottage, the pool under her father's body growing. She didn't even look back after what she did. She just left him there to rot. Fleur should hate her for that, she turned them into orphans, but she doesn't feel anything as she just stares at Flora. No more anger, or fear, or resentment, just a cold numbness. Her mother's voice tells her that she's in shock, that she needs to process the grief and the trauma. Her mother's voice is distant, Fleur isn't even sure if it's her voice anymore, it's been so long since she's heard it. 

"Tech, you're needed in the cockpit." The grey-haired clone tells the one with goggles. Tech, the name fits him. He looks like a Tech. 

The grey-haired clone looks to her, his scowl melting into a face of concern, that's when she notices the tears streaking down her face. She quickly wipes them away but he crouches in front of her. "Ya alright, Kid?" He asks. 

"I'm fine. Thank you." She tells him. 

"Mmm, no. You're not." His voice is so sure, like he knows exactly what she's going through. "Come on," He jerks his head over to a door. He stands and offers his gloved hand to her. She takes it and he tugs her into the room, it seems to be a room full of bunks, six of them, for the six members of the team. She lets her eyes focus on the man in front of her. "I can tell you aren't worried about her. Spill it."

She blinks up at him, why would he care about what was going through her head? She's just an assignment to him, a mission. "I said I was fine."

"What did she do while you were in that house?" He gets right to the point. 

Her voice is devoid of emotion when she speaks, "She killed him, shoved her fist through his chest." 

He nods, processing what she said, "Our orders were to execute anyone involved with the Separatists if we found them. The asshole you called a father was connected to them. She did what she was ordered to do. If she wasn't there one of us would have done it. Would that have made you feel better, for him to be killed by one of us?" 

"The way she fought with him, it was almost savage. She didn't care who she was fighting." Fleur crosses her arms tightly over her chest, sitting on the bunk behind her. 

"She had bigger fish to fry than your father, she was quick and efficient. That's what her training dictates." He tells her. "She isn't the same person you grew up with." He straightens and steps back, pulling a toothpick from one of the pockets on his belt. "Stay in here as long as you need." And with that, he leaves her. 

She looks around the room a bit, every bunk is different, mismatched blankets made of different materials are on each of them. She notices a small lump on a pillow, when she stands and moves closer the lump looks up at her and blinks sleepily. The creature mews at her, a tooka kitten. "Hey, little one. What are you doing with these scary guys?" Fleur coos. The tooka just stares at her for a moment before it lays it's head back down with a small huff, rearranging its front paws. Fleur crouches down to watch the cat sleep when she notices a band around its neck, "What did they name you, little one?" She turns the collar and 'Glitch' is etched into a small piece of metal dangling from it. "You must have been named by Tech." She gently scratches between the kitten's ears and she gets a _mrrr_ in return. "There you go." She wants to hold the baby but she looks so comfortable, sitting in the middle of whoever's pillow this is. "I guess they aren't so scary, not if they have you." She mumbles. The kitten's eyes drift back shut again. 

\-----------------------

Ferox watches the Sargent and the brute as they talk quietly. The tall, skinny one walks out of the room that he dragged Fleur into, his eyes looking anywhere but at Flora. His face is pulled into an uncomfortable scowl, he must not like blood and there's a lot of it around at the moment. 

The Sargent keeps glancing her way, making sure she's still alive. They're all worried about her, but they all show it differently, Wrecker keeps wringing his hands together and checking her bandages with careful touches, the Sargent just stares from afar, a look of concentration paints his face, maybe he can hear something they can't? The one they call Tech keeps flitting between her and the cockpit, never staying in one place too long. The one with one arm, he should really ask for some names, sits next to her, gently cleaning the blood from armor and skin, he whispers to her but Ferox can't figure out what he's saying, it sounds like another language, every time he cleans a plate of armor he detaches it and sets it aside. It's oddly loving and intimate. 

He looks over to Callum, his best friend since childhood, Flora was the reason that he's still alive today. 

Ferox looks at his sister, she is everything he aimed to be, strong, dedicated, loving, fierce. He modeled his entire self around what he remembered of her. He didn't think he would ever see her again, he figured she'd be a distant memory, a legend only to be spoken about when he missed too many training sessions. He knew she wasn't dead. 

He tries not to think about his father's body lying in the middle of the floor, broken and bleeding. Gods, there were so many times he has imagined something happened to him, he disappeared for weeks at a time leaving them alone and scared. It would have been easier if he just didn't exist anymore. He didn't feel much when he saw him, shock maybe, there was a dead body in the living room, but no overwhelming feelings of loss or anger or even sadness. Nothing like Fleur felt. Maybe that makes him a bad person, he's not sure. 

"We're coming out of hyperspace!" Tech calls back to them, snapping Ferox out of his thoughts. 

The ship jerks a bit and the others start to scramble around preparing Flora to be moved, gathering supplies and weapons. He watches as a ship comes into view, it's one of the biggest he's ever seen, never leaving the planet you were born on really doesn't give you much for experiences. 

The Sargent lifts Flora gently into a bridal carry as the ship touches down inside what can only be a hangar. 

"Medics are waiting for her," Master Kafirm tells him, the hatch opens and the sound of controlled chaos fills the air. 

Ferox peaks out of the door before he follows Maud, people rush around in different uniforms, most of them have the same face, clones. They're almost the same height and build all around, tan skin and a majority have dark hair. "These are what normal clones look like." The one-armed one tells him. 

"What's your name?" Ferox asks over the noise. 

"Echo. Hunter is the Sargent, I think you already know who Tech and Wrecker are, Crosshair is the tall one." He points to each of the four clones that exit the ship. 

Some of the clones have stopped to look at them, some whisper to their neighbors but most of them just stare. 

A group of clones in white uniforms rush forward with a gurney, Hunter places Flora down while they all crowd around her. A man with green skin and what looks like tentacles on his head steps around them and embraces Master Kafirm, "It's nice to see you again, Rodak." The green man smiles and Ferox can see all of his sharp teeth. 

"That's General Fisto." Echo tells him. Ferox watches as Sargent Hunter is ushered towards the Jedi, "Debrief, nothing serious." Echo continues to clue him in. 

The sea of white uniforms finally clears and Flora is whisked away, "Where are they taking her?" Ferox starts to panic. 

"Medbay," Echo says simply.

Tech walks over, his head buried in his vambrace, "The consensus is that she will need to be taken into surgery, a good amount of the shards are too deep to pull out without intervention, then she will spend the night in a bacta tank." He flips his vambrace closed and looks at the two of them before he wanders back to the others.

"What's a bacta tank?" Ferox asks, he feels like an idiot for asking all of these questions.

"Bacta is a magic healing goop, we place the injured in a tank of it for however long they need, it promotes intense healing in a short amount of time." Echo says patiently, "It's okay to keep asking questions. I'll answer any that you have." He smiles at Ferox. "Come on, let's get you settled in." Echo drapes his good arm around Ferox's shoulder and drags him along. "I'll introduce you to some of the ARCs from this battalion, they're great." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So for this part, I wanted to see if I could create a few flaws in the batch, mostly with how they would handle an emergency like this, I've read a lot of head cannons and I wanted to apply those and some of my own. 
> 
> Thanks for stopping by! I hope all of you are staying safe and sane!


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for stopping by! Leave some feedback! Thanks for reading!

The room glows a soft blue, the only light coming from the bacta tank. Echo just stares at her, the glow paints her pale skin in an eerie tone. "She lost a lot of blood, we're lucky the shrapnel missed her eyes." The medical officer tells him. Echo just nods. "There's going to be scars, bacta can only do so much. Her other injuries will heal nicely." The woman tells him. 

"Thank you, ma'am." Echo barely acknowledges her with a mumble. 

"Let me know if you need anything." She squeezes his shoulder before giving him a soft smile. 

He turns back to the tank, his focus drifts to the art adorning her skin, there are flowers and insects he couldn't even begin to name. His eyes trace the wicked vines that crawl across her shoulders and down her arms. He lets himself analyze the scar on her neck, he's always averted his gaze when it came to it. It felt wrong to look, he didn't know the story. 

"None of those plants are native to Tithea." A voice tells him, he turns to see Fleur standing near the door. "The traditional tattoos for warriors are those of the planet," The girl tells him. "She shouldn't have any of those, it disrespects our ancestors." 

Echo looks at Fleur, at one point in time he would have said something similar, _'It's against regs' 'That's not what the rules say',_ but that was before the 501st, before he became an ARC trooper, before the Techno Union. "Who says she has to follow tradition?" 

"Maybe if she followed the rules she would still be on Tithea." She bites. 

Echo nods, he figured she was angry with her sister he just didn't know how deep those feelings went, "You think if she followed blindly she wouldn't have been hurt?" 

"She disobeyed our father and The Elders, she got herself into this and someone else got her out." She says.

"You think she needs to be punished?" He doesn't understand, this wasn't Flora's fault at all. 

"This is her punishment." The girl's eyes glow with anger as she turns, "It's what she deserves." And with that she walks out of the room, leaving Echo with his jaw dropped. 

Echo turns to the woman in the tank, he looks over the fresh scars on her face, what did they teach these people on that planet? If you disobey you get killed? Or severely maimed at the least? He thought the GAR was bad.

\-------------------

Hunter stands with Generals Fisto and Kafirm, Tech managed to get the footage from Reaper's broken HUD, the frame is frozen on the creature. "These creatures are thousands of years old. They basically control the planet," General Kafirm explains. 

"And she managed to defeat one?" The Nautalon asks.

"Yes, sir. From what I understand she used a series of runes and incantations." Hunter tells them.

"I will report this to the council, we may need to worry about Tithea after all. Thank you, Sargent. Rodak, it was good to see you again." The Jedi Master bows to the Torgruta before he leaves the command center. 

"With all due respect, sir. My team is not going anywhere near that planet ever again." He crosses his arms over his armored chest. 

"There's no reason to anymore. We got all of our informants out if The Separatists want to deal with The Elders they can, but I have a feeling The Republic won't go anywhere near that planet again until this war is over." The General sighs, "I'm going to go check on Maud and her son. Keep me updated on the status of Flora. I would like to speak to her when she wakes up." The Jedi straightens and swiftly exits the room. 

Hunter powers down the holo table, the horrible image of the beast fizzles out leaving the room in darkness again. He lets himself slide down the wall until he's sitting and squeezes his eyes shut. He tries to breathe as his mind replays what has happened just in the last twelve hours. His head pounds with every heartbeat. He takes a shaky breath and pulls himself to his feet. He needs to check on the twins, make sure they haven't wandered into anything that could cause trouble, he has a feeling Ferox could be a menace if he put his mind to it. Just like his sister.

\-------------------

Ferox wanders the halls of the star cruiser, trying to take in everything. He wishes Flora was around to explain everything, maybe when she's well enough she can give him a tour. The idea brings a smile to his face, he still can't believe that she works with The Republic now, with Jedi and clones, she's seen so much more of the galaxy than he ever dreamed of. 

"Hey! What are you doing here? This is a restricted area!" A trooper's voice cuts through his thoughts. He turns and freezes when he sees a clone with light blue marking on his armor, Ferox's eyes flit from the trooper's helmet to his blaster.

Without a second thought, Ferox dashes down the hallway to his left, dodging more troopers and officers as he goes. 

"Kid! Slow down!" The trooper yells. "You're not in trouble!" 

Ferox dodges another officer in a grey uniform as he shouts back at the trooper, "I don't believe that!" He takes off down another hallway and through a set of blast doors. He plasters himself to the wall to catch his breath. The trooper actually passes him, completely missing where he was hidden. Ferox breathes a sigh of relief before stepping away from the wall and walking through the blast doors only to run into a wall of white and blue plastoid, "No, no, no. You were- that was- Shit."

"We're clones, Kid. We all look the same. That's kinda the point." The trooper tells him. The troopers gloved hand clamps down on his shoulder, "Let's go." 

Ferox sidesteps the trooper and runs down the hallway again, laughing, "Catch me if you can!"

\-------------------- 

Hunter turns down a hallway and something slams straight into him, knocking him to the ground. Ferox is sprawled on the ground, groaning. Hunter hauls himself off the ground and takes off his helmet, looking down at the kid with one of his eyebrows raised. 

"No, no. Not the dad face, please, anything but that." The kid squirms and groans under the weight of his stare. 

"You ran from the commander," Hunter tells him, still pinning the kid to the floor with just his gaze. 

The Commander in question comes jogging around the corner, "You little shit." He pants, "I have chased you all over this god damned cruiser."

Hunter's lips twitch into the smallest smile before he shifts his stare back to the kid. "My apologies, Commander, he got away from my squad and I. He won't cause you any more trouble." 

The Commander takes off his own helmet and levels his own stare at the teen, "Oh my gods, noooo. Please, I won't explore on my own. Does that make you happy?" The boy groans. 

"Stay with the Sargent and his team. I'll drag you to General Fisto the next time I catch you." The Commander threatens. 

"If you can even catch me." The boy mumbles. 

The Commander turns, "Excuse me?" He uses 'the voice'. 

The boy just stares him down, the same mischievous smirk that Reaper wears all too often, "I said if you could even catch me." 

"This little shit related to that medic in the bacta tank right now?" The Commander asks. 

Hunter tries not to laugh, "Yes, sir. This is her brother, he has a twin running around somewhere. She doesn't cause as much trouble though." 

"It's like a spitting image. I glanced at her file, briefly. What do they call her? Somethin' creepy?" The commander asks.

"Reaper, her last name is Grimm. Grimm Reaper, get it?" The boy grins. 

"Just keep an eye on him, Sargent. I can't have him in restricted areas." The Commander turns and walks down the hall. 

Hunter turns to the boy who still sports the signature Grimm grin, "You're a pain in my ass. Let's go." 

\------------------------

Everything sounds murky and muffled. She can barely hear the two voices as they talk quietly. She tries to take stock of her body, something warm coats her skin, it tingles. If she had to guess she would probably say bacta, she must be in a tank. She's put so many others into one but had never been in one herself. It's warm and soothing, nothing like what it looks like. She figured it would be cold and suffocating. 

She blinks her eyes open slowly. It doesn't burn like water does, though she can only make out the shapes of her visitors, one of them is bulky, grey and red plastoid, Wrecker. The other is smaller, white and red armor, he's looking down at his vambrace, Tech. They continue to talk to each other. 

Tech looks up when she presses her hand against the glass, everything starts to feel foggy again but he places his gloved hand against hers on the glass before she lets her self drift back off. 

\------------------------

Crosshair stands on the observatory deck, the stars streaking by in hyperspace. His back sits against a terminal, if someone has seen him they haven't said anything yet, just kept on with what they were doing. 

Wrecker and Tech had invited him to go check on Reaper but he knows that if he goes and stares at that bacta tank that nothing good will come of it. 

The sound of alusteel against durasteel echoes through the empty room, Echo. He sits down heavily next to Crosshair. "Tech said she woke up, put her hand against the glass before she was back under. She'll be fine." The ARC tries to comfort him. 

Crosshair stares ahead at the stars, barely acknowledging his words with a quiet scoff.

Echo scoots over so they sit with their shoulders touching. "We were on a desert planet, it was a small squad, Commander Tano, Fives and I and two others from the 501st. She was assigned to our mission, she trekked through the sand for almost three days in full tactical gear before we finally found what we were looking for. Fives handed her one of his DC-17s before we went in. We were ambushed on all sides, they took all of our weapons, including her blaster. She had no problems handing it over to the droid, when they moved us the droids started shorting out, starting with the ones in the back that were guarding her. She took them out at random intervals so they thought something was wrong with their circuits. We all thought they were just buggy droids until she shoved her fist through a droideka. She has really refined that skill, she broke her hand. 

"We get our gear back and Fives tries to hand her the stupid blaster again. I thought she was going to kill him on the spot. So, Commander Tano helps to splint her hand and then we trudge through the sand for another three days to get back to the ship. By the time we get to the ship her hand is purple and swollen, we report back to Captain Rex before we take off. When we went back to the others she was already passed out, her head pressed into one of the poor shinies pauldron. 

"Kix was so mad at her when she got back, he lost his surgeon because she punched through a droid. The bones in her hand needed to be reset surgically so he had to send her to the nearest med station. She came back a week later, good as new." Echo's reflection shows him smiling at the memory. 

"Our last mission to Felucia she jumped in front of a rocket. She put out enough magic to obliterate half a battalion, easy. She spent eighteen hours unconscious in a tent. We thought we lost her. Seeing her bleeding like that, I didn't think she would wake up this time." Crosshair's voice is dull and empty as he recounts that mission. 

"She always bounces back. She wouldn't leave us like that." Echo bumps his pauldron, "She loves you guys too much." He laughs lightly. "She'll be fine."

\------------------------

Tech sits with his backplate pressed against the glass of the bacta tank. She has four more hours in the tank but if she wakes up again while she's in there he doesn't want her to be alone, even if it's only for a few seconds. He tries to make sense of the footage from her HUD. Her helmet had some of the best camera systems in it, he modified it himself, yet he can't get a clear look at the creature. Everything around it is fine, but the being is grainy and blurry, like the images were taken at a high speed. The only thing he can make out are its eyes, glowing a sickly green, nothing like Reaper's. The orbs make his skin crawl. 

The doors to the room slide open, revealing a woman looking down at a datapad, her white medical officers uniform tells him why she's here before she does, "I'm just checking her vitals. Depending on what I find we might pull her out a little bit early. A trooper managed to get himself blown up during a live exercise." She taps away at her datapad as she talks, when she looks up at Reaper she smiles, "She has a lot of ink, I've seen some of the stuff the troopers have but they have nothing on her. Whoever did them has incredible skill." She moves to the terminal and pulls up her vitals, she nods as she reads, "She's stable enough that we can pull her out. Her internal injuries healed nicely, I'll send her with some extra strength gel just in case she needs it for the wounds on her face." She turns to him with her hands clasped in front of her, "I'll send in a team to get her out." And with that, she leaves the room. 

Tech stands and takes a look at the freshly healed cuts on her face, they have left deep scars behind, cutting in all directions around her eyes and down her cheeks, some of them are small, a centimeter or two, one cuts from the left side of her jaw to the bridge of her nose. She's lucky that her eyes were spared. 

A team of nurses and techs come bumbling in with a gurney and Tech makes his way to the back of the room so they can work. He sends a message to Echo knowing he will want to see her when she wakes up. 

\----------------------

She's yanked from the pleasant haze of the sedatives and forced into the land of the living where it's cold and smells like bacta and disinfectant, she understands why Hunter hates it so much now.

The bacta is wiped from her eyes as they unhook the respirator and take it from her mouth and nose, "Ma'am, can you tell me your name?" A nurse asks. 

She blinks against the penlight being shined in her eyes, "Lieutenant Flora Grimm." Her voice is scratchy and weak. 

"Good, can you tell me what unit you work with?" The nurse asks. 

"Experimental Unit Clone Force 99." She croaks. 

"Good, two of your squad are here to see you. I'm going to send them over to say hi and then we will get you to a room." The woman tells her. 

She just nods as they continue to clean bacta from her skin and hair. Fingers lace through hers and she already knows the hand belongs to Echo, "Echo." She croaks as she turns her head to look at him, his warm brown eyes meet hers and a smile spreads across his lips. "Hi."

He laughs a little, "I'm right here Wildflower." His words are soft. 

Another hand runs through her sticky hair, "How do you feel?" Tech asks. 

"Sticky." She croaks. "Face hurts,"

"We had to pull you out a little early, your internal injuries healed. The wounds on your face will be sore for a few more days." Someone tells her. 

She nods, "Are the others alright?" She asks to either of the men at her bedside.

"Everyone's fine. Ferox is with Hunter and Wrecker and Fleur is with Maud and Callum." Tech tells her. 

She tries to get her foggy mind to clear a bit, "Cross?" She asks.

"He's hiding up on the observation deck. I went and checked on him. Don't worry about us." Echo tells her. 

A woman comes swimming into view, "Hello, Lt. Grimm. We're going to get you hosed off and into a room. Your team will be able to visit in a bit." The blonde smiles down at her. She lays a warm hand on her shoulder, "Let's get you presentable, shall we?" 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you know the footage and pictures of Bigfoot and the Loch Ness Monster? That's what Tech is looking at in that scene, just a threatening pair of lights and a blurry body. 
> 
> ANNOUNCEMENT: So I will be taking a break from this series after this part is finished I have a lot of other clone content that will be posted on AO3 but also on Tumblr as well. WIPs and announcements will be on Tumblr more often than they are on here. Come check it out my URL is: leonidas-banana-phone  
> See you there!


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: NIGHTMARES, CURSES, MEDICAL PROCEDURES (mentioned), MEDICAL MYSTERY. Can't figure out a diagnosis. Medical mystery just sounds right at 315am.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for stopping by! Leave some feedback on what you think! Enjoy reading!

She shivers violently, her teeth almost to the point of chattering. Ferox sits next to her on the bed as he recounts his tale of running from the Commander. 

They turn back to General Kafirm when he begins to speak, "We are having trouble getting her internal temperature to regulate. Even with synth-heat blankets, we haven't gotten it high enough for us to discharge her." The General looks back at her, "Her skin is also yellowing-"

"Her species doesn't have a liver, why is she jaundice?" Tech interrupts. 

The doctor sighs, pinching the bridge of her nose, "That's what we've been trying to figure out. We have barely anything to go off of. For now, we just wait." 

Hunter looks to the others, Wrecker looks dejected, Tech has been trying to find out as much information about Reaper's anatomy but he can hardly find anything, he hasn't slept in almost three days, if he isn't researching he's sitting with her. Echo's mind has been somewhere else for the last 48 hours, he looks off into the distance like he's watching something from afar. He's only seen Crosshair once, and he looked worse than Tech. Ferox has barely left her side and Fluer has only visited her once right after she was pulled from the bacta tank. Maud and Callum have been checking in periodically but staying out of the way. 

"If I can't find anything by tonight I will contact Miss Estrella. She might be able to help." Tech says through a yawn, Hunter knows it's useless to try and make him sleep. 

He nods as the doctor comes back out, her face etched with worry. "Her scans are coming back completely clean but her vitals are getting worse. I'll run some more tests. We will hopefully have some answers soon." 

\----------------------

She knows something is wrong. Her body feels like it's on fire but she isn't warm enough. Everything hurts, she tries to concentrate on what Ferox is saying to her but it's getting harder and harder to stay awake. "Get some sleep, sis. I'll be here when you wake up." Ferox tells her. She lets her head fall onto his shoulder as her eyes slide shut. 

_She's standing in the clearing, the same one where the ship landed. Her mother stands before her, hair and skirts blowing in the wind._

_"Mother? What's happening? Why am I here?" Flora pleads._

_The woman doesn't move or speak, just stands and stares. The darkness of the forest starts to creep in, moving along the grass and wildflowers._

_Her father appears next to her mother, his eyes the same glowing green as The Elder that she killed. "You should have stayed with them, Child. They would have kept you alive." His voice echoes across the ground._

_"What are you talking about?" She tries to step closer to them but something blocks her way._

_"You will have to fight, my child. It will be difficult." Her mother tells her._

_Black tendrils snake their way towards her, she tries to run but she can't, her feet seem to be glued to the ground. "What do I have to fight?"_

_"You will find out soon enough." Her father tells her._

_The darkness creeps over them and swallows them whole, "Wait! Don't go!" She calls after them, she can only see their eyes at this point in time, they glow in the many colors of their magic._

_"Good luck, my dear. You will need it." Her mother's voice floats around her._

She wakes with a gasp, a cold sweat covering her body. She locks eyes with a pair of nurses who are hovering over her, "What happened?" Her breathing is ragged. 

"You were unresponsive for almost five minutes. The Doctor and General Kafirm are on their way." One of them says as she smooths a wet rag over her sweaty forehead. "Just relax, we don't want to wake them." She nods her head at the other side of the room, Tech and Ferox are sprawled across each other, Ferox's face is pressed into Tech's side. "We couldn't get either of them to leave and then your trooper finally passed out an hour ago, the kid not long after." 

"The alarms didn't wake them?" She asks trying to look at the monitors she's hooked up too.

"Neither of them has slept for a few days." Her master's voice tells her as he walks into the room, "Are you alright, my dear?" He asks. 

Flora looks to him and then to the nurses, "I had a dream." She tells him.

"Would you excuse us, please?" He asks the nurses, they nod and step out of the room, "What happened in it?" The man takes a seat at the end of the bed. 

"My parents were there. My mother appeared first. She just stood there until my father appeared, his eyes. They looked like The Elders. And then the darkness, it came in from all sides. It spread like roots. My mother told me I had to fight, but she wouldn't say what I was needing to fight. And then the darkness swallowed them, all I could see was their eyes." She explains. 

"Would you let me see?" He asks. 

She nods hesitantly. "If you think that'll help, I guess you can." 

"Close your eyes and relax." The Jedi reaches out his hand and places it on her shoulder. She watches for a moment before she closes her own eyes when she feels his presence in her mind. She feels him needling his way through her memories and consciousness. 

Her mind starts to go fuzzy, "Master," She whispers as she tries to stay awake. 

"Don't fight it. Just let yourself sleep." He tells her. 

She slumps yet again, the last thing she hears is alarms blaring.

\--------------------

He reaches into her mind, searching for the dream but he only finds darkness. He can feel her slipping away again, and he lets her. The monitors around her start to go off one by one. Something is desperately wrong with her. 

"Damnit!" Someone growls beside him, their voice far off, a clone medic by the sound and feel of his presence. 

He presses on, searching through the darkness for anything that could give him a clue as to what he's searching for, but he finds nothing. 

"She's still breathing on her own but her test results are off the charts. If we can't fix this she's going to go into multi-organ failure." A calm voice says, Dr. Cos. 

Master Kafirm slowly pulls out of the young woman's mind, lingering just to see if he missed anything, or if she wanted to reach out to him. His eyes blink open and he looks over at the team of nurses and medics that have rushed into the room, her trooper and brother are awake and are being shoved out of the room as the monitors continue to scream. 

"She was fine! We pulled her out of the tank and everything was fine!" The woman says in between orders to her nurses, "I've never seen anything like this. If we can't get a handle on it she won't be alive much longer." 

The Jedi stands, "I believe something else might be causing this. She mentioned a dream and darkness. I will discuss it with Maud to see if she knows of anything like this." He nods once as he exits the room. 

The two men wait out in the hallway, both of them look up from the floor when he strides out of the room, "Is she okay?" Ferox blurts out. 

"No. Something is wrong but Dr. Cos will figure it out. I have faith in her. For now, you two should get some real rest. She's in good hands here." He uses the Force to nudge them along. 

They nod and finally walk out of the medbay. He turns and brings his communicator to his face, "Maud, can you meet me in the medbay, please. We have a bit of a situation and I could use your assistance." 

\---------------------

"We're moving her to the ICU. We can monitor her much closer there." The medic tells her and Rodak. 

"Thank you." Rodak nods to the man before he walks off. He turns to her, "She mentioned that she saw her parents, it happened while she was unresponsive. They told her she needed to fight. When I looked into her mind there was nothing but darkness. Something is causing this, someone is doing this to her." 

Maud thinks for a moment, "She was fine after her fight with The Elder. We would have seen something on the ship. And she was fine as she was taken out of the tank, right? And Ferox has been with her for almost the entire time, if Ferox isn't there, her men are. Who had access to her between the tank and her room where the others were waiting?" 

Rodak leans against the wall, "The only other person to visit her was-"

" _Fleur."_ They say in unison. 

"She wasn't happy about her father being killed. She hasn't tried to visit her again and she doesn't seem to care. I just thought she was distancing herself, maybe she was overwhelmed." Maud says. How did she not see it? Fleur was angry at Flora. She took her away from her family, her home. 

"Where is Fleur right now?" Rodak asks. "I would like to speak to her alone." 

"I haven't seen her in some time," Maud tells him. 

"I will look for her, stay here with Flora. If she wakes let me know." He stalks out of the medbay, leaving Maud standing alone. 

\-------------------

_The darkness is slowly creeping towards her as she runs through the forest. Her skirts catch over roots and ferns but she has to keep moving, she can't let it get to her._

_"Flora! Run! Please!" Hunter's words echo through the trees. His voice sounds haunting._

_She has to keep moving, has to keep running. She has to keep fighting._

_\-------------------_

Ferox walks down the halls of the ship, it's late, only the skeleton crew seems to be working. He wanders into a hangar and moves towards one of the fighters. He climbs up the ladder and steps gingerly into the cockpit, making sure not to touch any of the buttons. He slumps into the pilot's seat and stares off into the stars streaking by in hyperspace.

_He sees her running, looking over her shoulder as darkness follows her, the black tendrils licking at her heels. She stumbles but she doesn't stop moving. Her clothes are torn from the sharp branches, her armor replaced with a long skirt and cloak. Her breathing is ragged._

_"Run!" The word echoes over the trees, causing birds to scatter. She obeys the voice, not slowing._

A loud _clang!_ wakes him off, he shoots forward, hands braced against the dashboard of the starfighter, "Hey! Kid! You can't be here." A voice tells him. 

Ferox whips around to see one of the flight crew with a wrench in his hand, he must have hit the hull, "I- I'm sorry-" He stutters out. 

"Relax, I've got 'im." A familiar voice this time, Crosshair. He manages to soothe the worries of the flight mechanic. "Let's go, Kid." 

Ferox stumbles his way out of the fighter, his heart still hammering in his chest. "We need to go see Maud and Master Kafirm. I think I know what's wrong with Flora." He breathlessly tells the sniper. 

The clone looks bewildered before he snaps into action, "Last I saw they were outside the medbay. We'll start there." The man looks around before he grabs ahold of the boy's shoulder, "They were looking for your sister. Have you seen her at all?" 

Ferox shakes his head, "No, I saw her at breakfast this morning-"

"Yesterday morning-" Crosshair corrects. 

"We need to go now!" Ferox snaps. 

Crosshair scowls at him but doesn't say anything further. Ferox follows him as they make their way through the halls of the ship. He raises his arm, "Has anyone seen Maud or General Kafirm?" 

_"Third level, near the reactor room."_ The voice might belong to Hunter, Ferox isn't one hundred percent sure.

They break into a jog once they have their location. They round a corner where Maud and Master Kafirm exits out a set of blast doors. "Ferox, have you seen Fleur?" 

"No, but I think I know what's happening to Flora." Ferox blurts. 

Maud locks eyes with the Jedi next to her.

"I saw her, she was running. Blackness was chasing her. I read in one of my mother's books about curses." Ferox explains, "Her body is shutting down because she might be trapped in her head, the magic has woven itself around her consciousness. It's slowly taking over her mind." Ferox runs a hand through his hair as he paces, "The darkness is going to suffocate her." 

Maud takes a step forward, "The runes would have to be carved into her skin, there's no way the medical staff wouldn't have noticed. They would have turned black."

"She has black tattoos. A vine on her right forearm and a leaf on her left wrist. They're barely big enough but they could hide something." Crosshair tells them, crossing his arms over his chest. 

"We need to find them. Maud go with Crosshair to the medbay, look for the runes. Ferox, with me. We will continue to look for Fleur." The Jedi says. 

"Be careful, Rodak." Maud nods to the Jedi. When all of this is over Ferox will have to ask about them. 

\---------------------

Crosshair dreads the orders from General Kafirm. He's avoided the medbay for a reason. He shakes off the unease before he activates his comm, "Meet me at the medbay." He relays to the team as he runs. 

_"Cross, what's going on?"_ Tech asks. 

"Just get there." He growls. 

They skitter around a corner and almost run into Echo and Tech. "Hunter and Wrecker are on their way." Echo tells him. 

"What's wrong? Is she okay?" Hunter rounds the corner, Wrecker on his heels. 

Crosshair pushes through the medbay doors, "No. She's not." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter will be worse, I'm trying to take this part into an almost horror genre kind of setting. I just want to see if I can do it. Warnings will always be posted before the chapter, so just keep an eye out for those, I want everyone to be safe and enjoy reading my works. 
> 
> Thanks for stopping by! Stay safe and sane out there!


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: VIOLENCE, MANHUNT, HALLUCINATIONS, NIGHTMARES, DREAMS??? (I don't know what to call Flora's 'stuck in her own head' thing) CHARACTER DEATHS (HALLUCINATIONS OF CHARACTER DEATHS no one actually dies) BLOOD (COMES OUT OF MOUTH, NOSE, EYES, ETC...) CURSES, BURNS, STAB WOUNDS.   
> I LIED SOMEONE DOES DIE. DEATH.
> 
> Gods, this is angsty as hell. Just be safe. Read at your own risk.

"Explain it to me again." Hunter paces at the foot of Flora's bed. 

Ferox stands with his arms crossed, leaning against a wall, "Fleur cursed her. That's why she's like this." 

Hunter presses his fingertips to his temples, trying to soothe the pain that stabs there, "She was left alone with her for two minutes!" He growls, "Where is she now?"

"We haven't been able to find her. We looked but figured it would be better to tell you what Ferox found." Maud tries to calm him down. 

Of course, they haven't been able to find her, she doesn't know they're looking, she hasn't had the chance to get sloppy and desperate. They need to put some heat behind her. His team hasn't had a good manhunt in awhile. "I'm going to go inform General Fisto of what's going on." his voice is laced with a promise, not a threat. There's a reason his name is Hunter. 

He stalks out of the room, pulling Crosshair by the arm, when they are out of earshot Hunter leans in, "I want you set up with your rifle at the nurse's station for now. If you see her, don't hesitate." He growls. 

Crosshair smiles back at him, no not a smirk, a smile. He's going to enjoy this assignment. 

"Tech, Echo, you're with me." His voice softens, "Wrecker, stay here. Keep an eye on her, I'll be back for you in a bit." 

The halls are pretty much empty as they move towards the command center. The few regs they see let them pass without any issue, they can tell something is wrong. When they enter General Kafirm is already there talking in a hushed tone to General Fisto. They both look towards the three commandos, "Gentlemen. I heard we have an issue with one of the assets." General Fisto says coldly. 

Tech steps up to the holo table and uploads the file from his handheld, "This is Fleur Grimm, She has tried to assassinate her older sister, Flora Grimm. We have yet to locate her yet. She hasn't left this ship yet." Tech's voice is hard as he goes over Fleur's information. 

General Fisto looks over to his clone commander, "Commander Monnk, put the ship on lockdown." The commander nods and moves to a terminal where several regs are stationed. "Sargent, is there anything else you need?" 

Hunter defers to Echo as he steps forward, "Cut all unnecessary power. The dark will draw her out." The Jedi simply nods. 

"Commander," He prompts the clone. 

"Yes, sir. It will be done." The Commander nods. 

"Keep me updated on the hunt." General Fisto dismisses them. 

A smirk makes it's way across Hunter's lips as all of the light's power down, leaving them in the glow of the red emergency lights, "You two, go get suited the rest of the way up, I'll get Wrecker so we can start the fun."

\------------------------------

_She stops, chest burning as her breaths heave. She plants a hand against a tree and looks behind her again, the darkness has stopped for whatever reason. When her heart finally stops pounding in her chest she can hear whimpering, a voice begging her to come closer. She moves through the shadows and sees a limp form propped up against the bottom of a tree._

_As she moves closer, the moonlight streams through the trees illuminating the person. They gasp for air and she can tell there's blood coating their clothes, "Come here, Flora." The figure calls to her._

_When she finally steps in front of the body she can make out who it is, her father. There's a hole in his chest, the size of her fist. Shiny blood coats his shirt and drips into the soil beneath him. "You did this to me. You killed me, you deserve this." His next breath rattles in his chest, the blood starting to fill his lungs, "You're nothing." Blood drips from his mouth, coating his teeth and lips as he laughs, "Good luck." He slumps against the tree, eyes blank as the life leaves his body.  
_

_She stands and stumbles away, falling in the process. She scuttles back, boots slipping in the mud as she just stares at him. How did he get here? She left him dead in their family's cottage. She stands shakily, dragging her palms down her muddy skirt._

_She stumbles through the forest again, just trying to get away from him. She has no idea where she's going._

_A scream cuts through the quiet, the voice familiar. She runs towards it._

_\-----------------------_

Maud watches as the sniper sets up his rifle, his helmet obscures any of his emotions but the smile he had before he put it on sent chills down her spine. He's done this before. She watches Wrecker as he moves to hold Flora's hand and smooth the hair off of her forehead, he speaks in a different language, _"Vi Kelir mar'eyir them, kih solus. Val Kelir Waadar par ibic. Shi ve'ganir jate'shya. Vi Kelir hiibir baatir be te udes. Nuhoy, kih solus."_

"Wrecker!" The Sargent calls out across the medbay, the nurses jump at his harsh tone, "Let's go." He throws Wrecker's helmet and he catches it with ease. 

The brute leans down and whispers to Flora before he straightens and dons his helmet. Tech hands him his blaster and all five of them leave. 

Maud looks down at the young woman, "I'm worried about what they will do when they find her." She voices to her unconscious form. "She's just a girl, I don't think she wanted to hurt you. Not like this," 

Ferox steps out from the corner of the room, "She knew exactly what she was doing. That curse is meant to kill, not just maim. This is revenge. Flora didn't have a choice, Fleur did." 

"Ferox, she's your sister." Maud turns to her.

He barks out a harsh laugh, "And Flora's not?!" His voice starts to rise, "I thought she was dead! Nobody would tell us what happened! Not even you. She just disappeared and her blood was washed from the streets like it was no big deal." The boy stalks across the room. 

"It was for her own good." Maud tries to calm him, "Torrin would have gone after her." 

He scoffs, "He never left the planet. He didn't care enough to go after her. You could have told us, you could have told me,"

"Ferox..." Maud reaches for him. 

The boy gives her a tight smile, "Don't." He shrugs her off and walks from the room.

\------------------------

_The cries turn into whimpers the closer she gets to them. She pushes her way through the trees, the light filtering in through the canopy above, when did it get light?_

_She sees her, laying in the dirt, bloody hand clenched over her abdomen. "Mother!" Flora runs, sliding into the undergrowth._

_Her mother smiles at her, her blood coating her teeth, just like before, "I'm so proud of you." She reaches up and places a hand against her daughter's cheek, Flora can feel the tacky blood on her skin. "Take care of Ferox. He's going to need you." Tears fill her eyes, "You did the right thing."_

_"Mother-" Flora clutches at her hand._

_"It's alright. You'll be alright. You need to go now." Her mother's breaths are growing shallow. "Tell the twins I love them when you get back." She whispers._

_Flora nods. "I will. I promise."_

_"My sweet girl." Her mother's voice trails off and her hand drops to the dirt. Her blank eyes stare at the trees above her._

_Flora stands, wiping at the blood on her cheek. The forest is silent, the darkness is coming back. She needs to run._

_\-------------------------_

The lights flash, the red making the walls look like they're bathed in blood. Hunter moves through the halls, he listens to the others' footsteps, their breathing, Echo's limbs humming and clicking as he moves. 

They move around a corner, a shadow slips down the next hallway, a cloak trailing behind them. "The vitals match those I've cataloged from Reaper. It's her." Tech tells him. 

"She's toying with us. She knows we're following her now." Echo says. 

"Let her play." Wrecker's tone is almost sinister. 

Hunter holsters his blaster and pulls one of his vibroblades, "It would be easier if you just surrendered." He calls. 

A dark laugh rings through the air, "You finally figured it out. Good." The voice sounds detached, it pierces through the silence of the cruiser. It's a spell. "She'll be dead soon. It's what she deserves. An eye for an eye, a life for a life. In this case a life for two," 

A growl emits from his vocoder. "We will find you."

"I doubt it." The voice trails off, he can feel the spell fade from the air. 

\--------------------------

Crosshair wishes she would walk through those doors. He counts his heartbeats, steadies his breathing, finger poised over the trigger, itching to pull it, watch the bolt hit it's intended target. He sits, stone still, waiting, watching.

\---------------------------

The monitors start to blare again and Ferox runs to her room, Flora shakes, her body arching off the bed, nurses push him out into the hall but he can still see her, writhing and stiff. He remembers his mother describing a seizure to him, this must be one of them. 

He stares at her from against the wall. She's dying. She's dying and he can't do anything but watch. He wants to find Fleur himself, he wants to beg her to let his big sister go because that's the only family they have left. It's just her now. 

After a few moments Flora calms down, the monitors go back to their steady tones and the nurses return to what they were doing before. 

He stares at the sniper, he hasn't moved since he set up his rifle. Ferox doesn't even know if he's breathing anymore, maybe he's been replaced with a droid, able to sit for hours maybe even days, just watching and waiting, waiting for those doors to open and Fleur to step through. 

He lets himself continue to stare at him, it's not like he's paying attention anyway. 

His helmet barely moves in his direction, "You just gonna stare at me, Kid?"

"It's either stare at you or watch my sister die." Ferox says numbly. 

"She's not gonna die." His voice holds so much certainty like he knows the others will find Fleur before the curse kills Flora. "You don't know 'er like we do. She'll pull through."

"I don't know either of them." Ferox lets the numbness spread through his veins, it's a welcoming feeling, the nothingness replaces the exhaustion and terror, it makes it easier to breathe like a weight has been lifted off his chest. 

The sniper looks over at him, turning his attention off of his assignment, "She'll make it." He rolls his shoulders and settles back into position, "She wouldn't leave us like that."

\-----------------------------

_The air smells like ozone and smoke. She slows as the forest starts to change, the lush trees and ferns are streaked in soot, like there was a fire. Not just a fire, no this is what it looks like after a Separatist firebombing. She remembers helping the decimated villages on Ryloth. They smelled exactly like this. Well, it also smelled like burnt flesh._

_She treads carefully through the blackened foliage, toeing at the remains with the toe of her boot. It's eerily silent as she moves to a grove of trees, she can see something there, laying in the dirt, a large animal maybe?_

_She gasps when the thing moves, only it's not a thing. It's a person, she can see the red lines painted onto the plastoid armor under the soot. He writhes and gasps for air. She rushes forward, "No. No. No. Wrecker, don't move." She trips over her skirts and stumbles almost falling to try and get to him._

_She feels sick when she sees the exposed skin of his neck and face, splotches are burned black, while others are red, raw, and peeling. His good eye finds hers, she can tell he's in a lot of pain but she reaches out anyway, "Wrecker," She tries to comfort him._

_"Don't. Don't touch me." He gasps. "This is your fault. We're all going to die because of you." He rasps._

_She retracts her hand quickly, "What?- What do you mean?" She looks over him again, "Who did this? What happened?" Her hands shake._

_His head lolls to the side, the life draining from his body. No._

_She stands and takes a few steps back, this isn't right. No, this can't be real. The Separatists barely have a hold on Tithea, they wouldn't firebomb a planet so rich in resources, it wouldn't make sense._

_Her back hits the bark of a tree and she slides to the ground, gasping. No, something is wrong, something is very, very wrong. With a start she realizes:_ This isn't real. 

_Her head starts to cycle through all of the possible reasons for this to be happening, a bad dream? A nightmare? No. This is too complex. A hex? No, she would be dead already. She would have been dead before they got off the planet. This is a curse. Someone cursed her._

_She pulls her long sleeves up and lo and behold, the runes have been carved into her skin, right into the black vine and leaves. Black seems to trace her veins, the potent magic moving through her system. She's trapped in her own mind. She remembers learning about this curse in her mother's books, the only way to kick the curse is to fight her biggest fears. Her biggest regrets. Apparently her biggest fear is watching everyone she loves die. She takes a shaky breath as she remembers that Echo, Tech, Hunter, and Crosshair are still alive, not to mention Ferox and Fleur._

_The darkness creeps over Wrecker's body, licking at her boots. It's herding her towards her biggest fear. She knows she has to keep running. She has to fight whatever is waiting for her, it's the only way to get out of this alive._

_\------------------------_

Echo has done this time and time again, hunting for someone, tracking them. The targets never came out alive and with the way Hunter and Wrecker are white-knuckling their weapons he knows the outcome already. The girl won't survive the night. They will find her and interrogate her and she will either die trying to resist or succumb to her wounds after she finally gives up what they need. She may be a magic user but she's in a new environment, and normal clones aren't tracking her. 

There's a flicker of movement down the hall. The swish of a long cloak and thick skirts. She's nearby, losing ground fast. She's headed towards the main reactor room, the clones stationed down there will slow her down, just enough for them to step in, hopefully she won't kill any of them. 

As they round the corner a trooper is thrown, a blast of color dissipates as he hits the wall. "She could be as strong as Reaper. She will need to be subdued before she can blast us." Tech tells them.

"She hasn't had the training Reaper does. That blast wasn't strong enough to kill that trooper." Hunter says. "She's sloppy." 

"We go in fast, strike hard. Incapacitate, don't kill. We need info." Echo tells them.

"If Speck dies, she goes." Wrecker growls out. 

"I agree." Tech chirps.

Hunter just nods along. "On my count, we move, Tech and Wrecker, overwhelm her with blaster fire. Echo's with me." He gives the orders. He signals and Wrecker moves into the room, shouts and shots echo off the walls before Hunter and him slip in.

Troopers lay in broken heaps on the floor, limbs twisted at odd angles from being thrown. Fleur stands in the middle of the room, palms facing towards the ceiling, magic radiates from them, the colors shifting from yellow to green, to blue, to pink. The emergency lighting makes her skin take on a dark tone, the shadows make her look sinister. She takes aim at Wrecker but misses, Hunter was right, she's messy and untrained, nothing like her sister. How does someone miss a target as big as Wrecker? 

Tech fires off shots from behind a piece of equipment while she continues with Wrecker, sending blast after blast at him. 

Echo and Hunter slink along the back wall. They crouch behind a piece of equipment. 

"What did you do to her?!" Hunter calls. "How do we stop it?!"

"She has to fight the curse on her own. But, by the time she figures it out, she'll be dead." The girl turns towards him. 

"What did she do?" Echo stands. 

"What the hell are you doing?!" Hunter hisses at him.

"Distracting her, move in from the side." Echo places his blaster on the terminal before he steps towards her. "What did she do to deserve this? Why does she have to die like this?" 

Fleur turns her full attention to him, big mistake. "She killed our mother and father, she left Tithea, she left us there!" Her anger radiates through the room.

"You know that's not true." He takes a few more steps. 

Tears shine on her cheeks, glistening in the red light. She looks down at her boots before she looks back at him. "She killed them," She says. She readies another blast, aiming for him. It's not hard to dodge. 

"Fleur, you need to stop before more people get hurt." Echo has to step over a trooper to get closer to her. 

At this point Hunter is sneaking up to her, vibroblade in hand. 

"How do we stop the curse?" Echo asks once again.

The girl laughs, "You can't. It's all up to her." Her eyes begin to glow, the same way Flora's do whenever she conjures a wave of magic. "You will all join her soon enough!"

Hunter is almost on her, his knife aimed for her back, he surges forward, plunging the blade into her spine. With a gasp her eyes fade back, the magic fizzling out. Her legs give out but Hunter supports her fall, guiding her down onto the floor. 

Echo rushes to her, crouching in front of her as she gasps for air. Her eyes flutter, black blood pools around her, "You can't save her." She whispers. Hunter pulls the knife from her back and she falls limp to the ground. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sitting here and I just can't believe I wrote something like this, like holy shit. Am I okay? Like I should go see a therapist, fuck. 
> 
> I figured I would split this into two chapters. It's pretty easy to write the action at this point I just didn't want it to be super ungodly long. 
> 
> We will find them, small one. They will pay for this. Just get better, my love. We will take care of the rest. Sleep, small one.- "Vi Kelir mar'eyir them, kih solus. Val Kelir Waadar par ibic. Shi ve'ganir jate'shya, ner kar'taylir darasuum. Vi Kelir hiibir baatir be te udes. Nuhoy, kih solus." 


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW!!!: ALL ABOARD THE PAIN TRAIN, THIS IS NOTHING BUT ANGST. BLOOD (COMES FROM THE MOUTH, THE NOSE, THE EYES), GUN VIOLENCE (HEADSHOT), MEDICAL PTSD, DEAD BODIES.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Leave some feedback on what you liked or didn't like. You can yell at me if you want to. I know you want too.

The body in his arms shouldn't feel this heavy. The kid is taller than Reaper sure, but she's still on the smaller side. Hunter looks down at her face, the color drained from it, Fleur can't be more than a few years older than them, maybe fifteen or sixteen. It's strange, she looks so much younger. 

They're silent as they make their way back to the medbay, Tech and Echo split off to give report to General Fisto on the bridge while Wrecker contacts General Kafirm, telling him to meet them at the medbay. 

Hunter is tired, he wants this to end, needs this to end. He needs Flora to wake up, he needs her to be okay. He takes another glance at the girl in his arms, if he tries hard enough he can just pretend she was knocked unconscious or maybe she's even sleeping.

A large hand finds his shoulder, Wrecker. He doesn't say anything, but he doesn't have to at this point. 

The lights flicker back to life and it just makes it worse, he can see just how lifeless she is now. The red emergency lights threw off enough shadows to mask the _death_ on her features. 

The Torgruta turns the corner with a grim look on his face. He doesn't say anything as he walks up to Hunter, taking Fleur from his arms and cradling her against him. 

"She was going to destroy the reactor, I didn't have a choice." Hunter's voice is numb, emotionless. "I don't think she understood that." 

"It's alright, Sargent." The Jedi tells him, "We need to get back to the medbay. Maud said she wasn't doing well." 

\-----------------

The blood started dripping from her nose, the black almost staining her skin. Crosshair takes the gauze and swipes at the fresh drops, trying not to think about it too hard. If she was bleeding from her nose where else was she bleeding? Were her organs still okay?

Ferox moves to the other side of the biobed, he looks older than he is, the dark circles under his tired eyes make him seem closer to Reaper's age. He turns her wrist over and examines the rune carved into her skin, black lines have started branching out across her skin, Maud said it was the magic slowly working it's way through her body. 

The monitors blare and Crosshair jumps, Dr. Cos comes flying in with two nurses and a medic. She sighs, "Her CO2 levels are dropping. We might have to intubate." She says. 

Reaper's body jerks and blood starts to drip and foam from her mouth. Crosshair stumbles back, Ferox grabs ahold of his arm and hauls him out of the room but he can't stop staring at her, the black blood drips from both her nose and mouth, pooling on the white sheets below her. She gasps for air, causing the blood to bubble and foam. 

The team runs around her, gathering various tubes and wires, turning her on her side where the blood that was pooling in her mouth spills out. 

His ears are ringing, someone calls his name but it's muffled. That same person shakes him but he can't tear his eyes away until one of the nurses finally closes the curtain. He shakes off the hands trying to comfort him and runs. 

\----------------

_When she sees it it's already too late. He stands in the middle of a clearing, back to her. The blaster bolt comes out of nowhere, cutting through the trees before hitting its mark. The blue tears through his helmet and she screams. "CROSSHAIR!"_

_She knows before he hits the ground that he's already dead, she's seen enough headshots to know, there's no coming back from an injury like that. It doesn't stop her from running to him as his body crumples to the ground._

_She drops beside him and reaches for his helmet, the hole in the plastoid still smoking as she breaks the seal. His brown eyes stare at nothing, lifeless. She's tired of seeing them like this, tired of the dead eyes that stare into oblivion._

_Tears blur her vision. She has to keep repeating that this isn't real, that he's not really dead. He's safe on the Jedi cruiser, probably avoiding the medbay. It doesn't stop the pain in her chest as she looks at him._

_She takes a series of shaky breaths bordering on hyperventilation as she reaches up and closes his eyes. She stands on trembling legs letting the helmet slip from her cold fingertips, it bounces on the grass once before she turns, not looking back._

_\----------------_

Ferox stands, staring at his twin's body. She looks peaceful, hands folded and placed on her stomach, eyes closed. They laid her on her back, concealing the wound near the top of her spine. He wants to be angry with her, she did this to Flora and died before she could pay the consequences, but he feels nothing, just numbness and a cold that has nothing to do with the room. He wants to be terrified that if Flora dies he will be the last remaining member of his family but he feels _nothing._ An emptiness replaced the emotions he was feeling just hours before. 

He remembers the look on the snipers face when she coughed all of that blood up, it wasn't disgust, it was _terror._ It's like he's witnessed this before. After the terror his face went blank before he turned and ran out of there, he just turned on his heel and bolted. He wishes he could do the same, escape from this nightmare one way or another.

He focuses on his sister's face, "Why did you do it? Why did you want her dead? I don't get it." his voice is full of defeat, "She's all we have left, all I have left. We could have been a family again." Hot tears gather in his eyes, he doesn't stop them as they cascade down his cheeks.

The door swings open and someone walks through, "Ferox," The smooth voice says his name. It doesn't stop the angry sobs that wrack through his body. The Jedi wraps the boy in his arms.

Eventually, he calms, something warm sits in his chest. Maybe the Jedi is using The Force to get him to relax. "You aren't alone. You have Maud and Callum and that entire squad of clones. They're your family as much as she was. They're going through the same thing you are."

Ferox wipes at his eyes and nose, "You were her Master." 

"I was. She taught me as much as I taught her, probably more. I couldn't be more proud of what she has become." Master Kafirm pulls back just enough to look him in the eyes, "She'll survive this, The Force isn't ready to give her up. She isn't ready to give up yet. She wouldn't leave any of you like this."

"Can The Force really do that? It just decides when people should die?" Ferox asks. 

"The Force works in ways that not everyone understands. One really can't get a grasp on its complexity until they become part of The Force after they leave this realm." The Jedi moves to Fleurs side, "No one is ever really gone, they just shift into the next stage of life." He lays his hand on top of hers, the pale green is a strong contrast to the warm red of his skin. "You will see her again. You'll see all of them one day." 

Ferox shifts his gaze to the floor, if he looks at her he knows he'll break down again. "I need to go find Crosshair." He mumbles. 

"Yes, he needs someone." The Jedi agrees as Ferox turns and walks out of the room.

\--------------------------

"What if we transferred her to The Temple. The Halls of Healing can do a lot more than we ever could on the ship." Master Fisto crosses his arms over his chest. 

Rodak knows he's right, the healers would be able to help. They have more experience with curses and magic than Dr. Cos or the medical staff ever would. "I agree but her team will not be happy about this. They won't be able to see her until she's discharged." 

"If she doesn't die." The Nautolan's tone is grim. 

"The Force isn't ready for her to go. Besides, she's smart. She'll figure it out before it's too late." Rodak tells him. 

"You have a lot of faith in your apprentice." Kit comments. 

"I've learned much from her. She may not be a Jedi but that doesn't mean that she isn't full of wisdom." The Torgruta smiles. 

"We will get her on a transport to Coruscant as soon as we can. Her team needs to say goodbye for now." Kit turns to the medical officer, "Get her ready."

The clone nods, "Of course, sir." He walks back into the medbay.

"I will notify them. They'll understand. It's for the best." Rodak bows to Kit before he too enters the medbay. 

Four of the five men are standing outside of Flora's room. The sniper is still missing. Rodak straightens and places his hands behind his back, "It's been decided. She is to be transferred to The Jedi Temple." 

The Sargent nods solemnly. "When does she leave?" He asks. 

"As soon as we can. Within the hour. The medics are getting her ready now, I would wish her luck before she leaves." He suggests. 

"What about her brother?" The ARC trooper speaks up.

Rodak sighs, "He will stay with you. You will complete your mission without Lieutenant Grimm. Get Maud and her son to safety and then we will find out what to do with him." 

"Someone needs to go find him and Cross." The Sargent pinches the bridge of his nose. 

"I will take care of that. Just worry about her for now." The Jedi smiles softly. 

The medic exits her room, datapad in hand. "The transport will be arriving in thirty minutes." He reports. 

"Thank you." Rodak nods to the clone. The team shuffles their way into her room before he leaves to find the other two. 

\---------------------------

Ferox finds Crosshair where Crosshair found him, in the cockpit of the same starfighter. He climbs the ladder and sits on the small platform at the top. 

"The first time she did this we thought we lost her. She just vanished after a mission, she was working in the medbay and then poof gone. It took us an hour to find her." Crosshair doesn't look at him, rolling the toothpick between his teeth around. "She was asleep. Same as you. You're just like 'er, Kid." 

Ferox doesn't know what to say so he just sits in silence, he doesn't seem to mind. They stare at the stars streaking past, the blue almost hypnotizing. "She used to take us to that clearing when we were little. When our mother and father were at each others throats. We would stare up at the stars until morning. Then she'd drag us back home and help Mother with breakfast. She was always there for us." Ferox smiles to himself at the memory. 

The sniper's jaw flexes but he doesn't say anything, Ferox didn't expect him too anyways.

"Fleur used to follow her around the garden as she worked. Flora would tell her all of the scientific names that she learned from our mother. When we were babies she used to talk about poisonous plants to get us to sleep." Ferox continues. 

Crosshair scoffs, taking the toothpick out of his mouth, "Tech bribes her with a sample when he's trying to get out of exams, she has quite the collection." 

Ferox grins at that, "She used to talk about the plants on a planet called Felucia. Has she been there?"

"That cesspit?" He laughs dryly, "Three times." 

"It's that bad?" Ferox grimaces. 

"The jungle has a shit ton of the nastiest creatures I have ever seen, not to mention the diseases. The climate is also shitty." Crosshair points his toothpick at him, "Lovely place to vacation."

This makes a laugh burst from Ferox's chest. When he quiets he can hear footsteps approaching the starfighter, he turns and Master Kafirm is walking towards them with a solemn face, "Gentlemen." He stands at the bottom of the ladder, "We have decided to move Flora to The Jedi Temple. The transport will be here soon, it'd be best to go wish her well before she leaves." 

"The Temple?" Crosshair asks. 

"She will be moved to The Halls of Healing." The Jedi explains clamly. 

"We wouldn't be able to see her." Crosshair mumbles.

"Why not?" Ferox asks, "Why can't we see her there?"

Crosshair rises from the cockpit, "If you're not a Jedi you can't go in. Plain and simple." He bites. 

Ferox just nods. "We'll go see her before she goes." He says softly.

\-----------------------

Tubes stick out of her nose and mouth, black being siphoned away from her body. Tech and Echo stand at the foot of her bed when Crosshair and Ferox enter. 

Crosshair doesn't want to look at her. He can't bring himself too, he just stares at her blanketed feet. "She'll be fine, _vod._ They'll be able to help her better there. She'll be up and fine in no time." Echo tells him, laying a hand on his shoulder. It's too much, Crosshair jerks at his touch, a wounded noise escaping his throat. 

"Crosshair-" Tech starts. 

"Don't." Crosshair spits out. "Just don't." 

Tech nods and leaves the room, leaving him and Echo alone. "She'll be okay." Echo says. "She'll beat this too. She's too stubborn not too." His voice is soft, like he's speaking to a wounded animal. Crosshair lets Echo touch him, a hand on his shoulder, "She'll walk out of The Temple head held high, that stupid grin on her face. Just like always. But for now, we have to say goodbye. You'll regret it if you don't." He hears the unspoken words, _just in case she doesn't make it._

Crosshair squeezes his eyes shut and takes a deep breath before he opens them and focuses on her, she looks so different, her skin pale, black tendrils have started snaking their way up her neck and face. If he opened her eyes he would probably see the same. Her hand lays on top of the blanket, he takes a hold of it and notices how cold she is. "Come back to us. You have too." He whispers to her. "Prove her wrong, spite her." He pulls back with a squeeze to her hand.

He turns back to Echo who nods in return. They take a step back as Ferox moves to her side, _"Anutrof sunob. Eliciffid olleb. Tixid espi tucis. Sibon tse susrever te. Aem roros, tire angup cah."_ The boy speaks in his native tongue while smoothing the hair from her face. "We'll be waiting for you." 

The medic steps in the room with a nurse following behind, "The transport is here, we're ready for her." 

Crosshair nods and steps outside into the hall, Echo and Ferox following shortly behind. "She'll make it through this. She always does." 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hac pugna erit, soror mea. Et reversus est nobis. Sicut ipse dixit. Bello difficile. Bonus fortuna.- You will fight this, sister. You will come back to us. Just like he has said. Battle hard. Good luck.  
> Tithean is just Latin backward. I just took the phrase and flipped it.
> 
> Well, the end is hopeful. I couldn't just make it feel hopeless. I just couldn't, I was even torturing myself a bit there. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Stay safe and sane!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW!!!!!!: BUGS, LOTS OF THEM. BLOOD (COMING FROM THE NOSE, MOUTH AND OR EYES) DEAD BODIES, DEATH,

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, leave me some feedback on what you liked and didn't like. Yell at me if you want to.

Tech stares at the broken and bloody shards of her helmet, she's going to need a new one. He picks through the electronics, trying to find something to salvage but he knows it's not worth it. He would have to clean the sticky blood from the components and wires and that would just take too much time. 

The ship is silent, no one mutters a word. Wrecker and Echo work on cleaning the blood from the walls and floor while Hunter and Crosshair sit in the cockpit. Ferox sits in one of the jump seats, staring at the wall ahead of him. "You should go get some sleep," Tech tells the boy.

Ferox shrugs in response, "'M fine." His voice is hollow. 

Hunter appears in the doorway, "Go get some rest, Kid. That's an order." There's a bit of his sergeant tone in his voice. 

The boy stands and nods before disappearing into the bunks. 

"Think he'll be okay?" Wrecker asks. 

Hunter just sighs and goes back to the cockpit. 

"He's almost lost his entire family. The only one he has left is fighting for her life. It's a lot to handle." Echo says. 

Everyone fades off into silence again. 

\---------------------

Ferox can't tell which bed was Flora's so he reaches under each pillow in search of the crystals carved with runes that she always used to have hidden. When he nudges what he thought was a stuffed tooka it makes an angry _me-ra-ra_ chirping noise. He looks at the kitten in fascination. He's never seen one look like this, one side of her is striped in blue and the other half is striped in green, split right down her spine, the base color of her fur is purplish. She's the weirdest thing he has ever seen. 

His hand closes around what he was looking for but there's only one stone. He slides his hand around in search of the others but they're nowhere to be found. He eyes the bunk on top of that one and sticks his hand under that pillow, hoping there isn't any animal up there that might bite at his fingers. Just like he thought, he only finds one rock. 

He moves around the room collecting the different colored rocks from each of the bunks until he has the full set. The runes have been carved roughly into the stones, nothing like how the originals looked, she must have found new rocks and carved them herself. She probably didn't have a chance to retrieve hers before she left the planet. 

The tooka jumps down from its pillow and rubs against his leg. He scoops it up as he moves to the farthest top bunk in the corner of the room. He shoves the handful of rocks under the pillow before he jumps up, the tooka settles on the pillow like the queen she is as he lays down facing the wall. 

He finally lets his mind catch up, starting with when the clones landed on the planet, everything was going fine. They watched the ship land and all of them emerged, clad in their black and red armor, like complete badasses, he had no idea Flora was even with them, gods, he made fun of her height. 

When they all got into Maud's cottage they took their helmets off, he didn't know exactly what to expect but it wasn't that. Echo almost scared him, he had never seen someone with metal studs in their head. And then she took hers off and Maud reached out. She was shaking, staring at herself in the visor of her helmet, the same one that Tech is picking at right at this moment. When Maud said her name he thought he misheard, but the drop of her chin told her everything he needed to know, she was alive and home. His sister was alive. And then the rest of the day is almost a blur, she went out with Maud and the team sat tensely around Tech, listening to everything they were saying to each other, then it's like he can't remember anything until she bolted awake, relaying the warning and all hell broke loose. 

The storm rolled in, faster than any he's ever seen. And then he was shoving clothes and books into a bag and looking at his father's dead body. 

He could barely process what he saw as he ran for the ship, what he felt, the true evil of The Elder. Flora was yelling at him to get the rest of her team away, he had to cast a shield to keep Hunter from running to her. Gods, the fear in his voice, he must have felt it too. 

Then she was stumbling into the clearing, her broken helmet handing loosely in her hand and blood covering her face. He thought she would fall over dead at any second, her knees hit the mud, and Hunter rushes forward, scooping her up and calling for Tech. 

He stood in front of her bacta tank with Hunter and Wrecker, she looked ethereal, floating in the blue light. It wasn't until after she was taken out that everything went to hell. It hasn't even come back yet. 

He takes a shaky breath as his sister's corpse flashes in his mind. He lost her, his twin, his best friend, it feels like there's a hole in his chest where she once was. Tears gather in his eyes and he lets them fall silently, in this room, all alone, in a bed that isn't his, he can grieve, for Fluer, for his father, for his life, for everything. 

\----------------------

_The trees finally break and the village comes into view, it's empty, shrouded in darkness, unnatural shadows seem to cover everything._

_She finds herself in front of her family's cottage, her skirts whipping around with the wind. She stares at the door, expecting Fluer and Ferox to come running out giggling with glee. Her feet move automatically over the worn stones towards the garden, she stops in shock when she gets a good look over the wall, everything is dead, rotting, and shriveled._

_She turns and pushes open the back door, the cottage is cold and dark, just like everything in this strange realm. She looks around, dust and cobwebs cover the shelves and furniture._

_A scream pierces the air and she runs to the back bedrooms, she skids to a stop when she sees Ferox on the ground, his clothes torn and bloody. He reaches out for her, "Help, Flora, please." His hand is covered in scrapes and bruises are littered over his arms. His breathing is labored, he won't survive much longer, just like the others. She wants to turn away, just walk away from him because she knows this isn't real. It's tearing her to pieces, watching each of them die like this._

_The dust swirls around her feet as she moves to him, dropping onto her knees, taking his outstretched hand, "It'll be over soon, Ferox. Don't fight it. Just close your eyes. It'll be okay." Her voice is small._

_He does as she says, his eyes slipping closed, he relaxes a bit, his breathing still getting worse. He takes a final gasping breath before he goes still. His hand slides from hers as she stands. A scream bubbles up from her chest and she lets it. It tears from her throat, leaving it raw. She clutches at her head as she sobs. She shouldn't have to watch her entire family die just to survive. It's not fair. It's not right._

_Her sobs finally taper off, she looks down at her hands covered in her brother's blood. She shakily wipes them on her muddy skirts, it helps some._

_She takes the blanket off of the bed and drapes it over his body. He looks so small, so young. He's supposed to die after her when he's old and grey._

_She tears her eyes away from him before she can start to cry again. She runs her hands over her cloak and skirts, trying to smooth them down, even if its no use. Leaving the house is harder than she thought it would be. She takes a moment to stare at it again, this will be the last time she gets to look at her childhood home. She tries to burn it into her memory._

_The darkness silently slips across the ground, she wants to let it wash over her. Part of her wants to give up, just let the darkness consume her like it did the other bodies._

_She tries to tell herself that there's only four left, Tech, Echo, Hunter, Fluer. After that, she has no idea what will come next but at least it's something._

_She finally turns and walks through the streets, taking her time looking over every house. She stops at the center of the village and places her hand against the bark of the old willow. It's dead, hollowed out and rotten, the branches are bare, jutting out into the grey sky._

_She watches as a beetle crawls out of one of the rotten sections, she stumbles back when more and more start to emerge. They quickly cover the trunk, a clicking comes from them. A scream escapes her as she watches in shock._

_She backs away before taking off,_ fear, _and panic coursing through her._

_\--------------------------_

_Ferox stands off to the side of the old tree, its branches are leafless and part of the trunk is caved in. The village has taken on a strange shadow, everything looks grey and tired._

_Flora walks up to it and places her hand against the old wood, her hands are stained black, he has a sneaking suspicion that its blood._

_She takes a shaky breath and then her eyes grow wide and she shrieks, stumbling back. Panic and terror flood her face, he moves towards the old tree, only to see a wave of black beetles crawling over the bark._

_She takes a few steps backward before she turns and runs again._

He flings himself off the bunk with a shout, pulling at his clothes, brushing off the imaginary bugs. 

The door opens and Echo is standing there, blaster in hand. "Are you okay?" He looks around the room.

"I saw her. And then the bugs," He gasps, trying to catch his breath. 

"What bugs?" Echo asks, holstering the blaster and moving towards her, "Is she okay?" 

"She's scratched up and her hands had a lot of blood on them but she looked okay. She was at the tree in the center of the village, when she put her hand against it beetles came out of it, a lot of them. She screamed and ran, then I woke up." Ferox explains, still brushing off his clothes. 

"It was just a dream. There are no bugs in space." Echo reaches out for him, placing his hand on his shoulder, "It's alright." He looks down at his boots, "She's okay." He says more to himself than to Ferox.

"For now she is. What happens when she isn't anymore?" Ferox pulls back, "She's fighting for now, what if she gives up? You should have seen it. It was colorless and grey, everything was dead." 

"She won't give up. She's already gotten this far, have some faith in her." Echo tells him. 

\---------------------

Echo is just relieved to hear that she's still alive in there, that she's still fighting against the current of whatever is trying to drag her under. It's more than he ever did, he gave up, let them in. He's glad that she's different, she's strong. "She won't give up. She's already gotten this far, have some faith in her." 

"You didn't see what I saw in there." Ferox mumbles.

"You wanna know what happened to me? What really happened?" Echo asks, "That explosion should have killed me, I was probably dead at one point. They found me, hooked my brain up to machines, replaced my arm and legs. I became their pawn, I stopped fighting them. I was dead to everyone who mattered anyway. It was easier just to comply. She was the first person I saw when they came to rescue me. She and my captain were crouched in front of me. I woke up after a cycle and a half, half dead. She didn't give up on me, she saw me like that, like this," He gestures to his arm and the rest of his body, "She didn't care, she still loves me, even after all of that. I can't give up on her like that. I won't." 

Ferox just stares at him before he looks down at the floor, "I'm sorry." He mutters. 

"It's over and done with. Don't give up on her just yet, she'll beat this." Echo smiles at the boy. 

"I hope so." Ferox gives him a sad smile. 

\---------------------

_She doesn't even make it to the forest before there's a blue flash, blaster fire, it lights up the surrounding area but isn't close enough for her to see the individual bolts. Whoever it is breaks out of the forest before they fall to the ground. She breaks into a sprint. Dread ices her veins, who's next?_

_The shadow from the forest shrouds the person in darkness but she recognizes the cry of pain, it cut through her comms on Felucia._

_Tech writhes on the ground, jerking and twisting, he gasps for air. "Reaper-" He groans out her call sign._

_"I'm right here, Tech." She crouches next to him, one of the lenses in his goggles are cracked. The blaster wound is identical to the one that he got on Felucia, but it's somehow so much worse, carbon scoring streaks his chest plate, it smells like smoke and burnt flesh. The burn must have been deeper, the charge must have been larger than the standard droid weapon._

_He jerks as he tries to speak, "You. You-" Blood trickles from his mouth. He grabs for her hand and she wrenches off his glove so he can touch her, skin against skin. He's fighting but he's not going to make it, the look in his eyes tells her that he knows that, he's always been smart._

_"I'm not going anywhere." She tells him._

_He nods and his other hand latches onto her. His eyes are filled with tears, he blinks and they pool in the rims of his goggles._

_"I've got you, it's okay." She runs her free hand through his hair, he leans into the contact. She lets her hand rest on his cheek, "It's alright, Tech." She tries to soothe him._

_He coughs and blood splatters against her cloak. His grip starts to grow weaker. "L-love you." He gets out._

_"I love you too. It'll be okay. I promise." She tries to blink away the hot tears forming in her eyes but it's no use. "I love you so much. I'll see you soon." She chokes._

_His eyes flutter closed as he continues to gasp and jerk._

_"There you go. Just relax." She leans over and presses her forehead to his, "I've got you."_

_His body gradually relaxes, the jerking stops and he rattles out one last breath. Her tears drip onto his skin. She pulls back and plants a shaky kiss to his forehead. She stands, "I'll see you soon, I promise."_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oh fuck. I made myself cry. I'm going on vacation and by vacation, I mean to my in-laws and it will be quiet and relaxing and I'm going to do nothing but hike, write and work on cosplays so expect a few updates!


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: BLOOD, DEATH, DEAD BODIES, MEDICAL PROCEDURES (MENTIONED), MONSTERS. I think that's it for this chapter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading, leave me some feedback!

The warm evening light filters through the windows. "Ah, Healer Kafirm. It's good to see you again." The nurse smiles at him. 

"How is she settling in, Shala?" He asks her. 

Shala sighs, her lekku drooping ever so slightly, "Her levels are getting worse. She may need blood soon if the anemia gets any worse." 

Rodak nods, "She'll be fine."

Shala looks over her patient, smoothing the blanket that covers Flora before she exits the room. 

Rodak peeks into the hall before he engages the lock on the door after it slides shut. He walks round to the side of her bed, pulling a chair closer, "Let's try this again, Flora." He places his fingertips to her forehead, 

_The forest is dark, she turns, her eyes wide, "Master? You can't be here!" Her voice is panicked._

_"Don't worry about that, my dear. I'm safe." He tries to calm her. She's terrified, her hands and face cut up, something dark stains her hands if he had to guess it would probably be blood. "Are you alright?"_

_She looks around, "I'm fine. Something is killing them. One by one. I haven't been able to figure out what." So that's what she's looking for. "It's like I'm being herded by the darkness. Every time it dissipates a new body drops. So far it's been my parents, Wrecker, Crosshair, Ferox, and Tech." She babbles, her eyes continue to dart around, looking anywhere but at him. "Master, none of this is real. I was cursed." There it is, that's what he was looking for, she has always been smart, quick to catch on._

_"You are correct." Rodak notices the darkness moving in and raises his hand, it comes to a halt. Her eyes grow wide, "You need to beat this fast. Your body is deteriorating, we had to move you to the Temple for further treatment. They're worried, Flora." He feels his strength waning, her mind is trying to push him out, the darkness quivers, wanting to be released._

_"Are they okay?" She asks, always caring for others but never herself._

_"They're fine. Focus on the task ahead. I must leave now before I too get stuck here with you. May the Force be with you, young one." Rodak bows to her._

_Her words echo in his montrals, the cold, emotionless response, "May the Force be with you."_

_\----------------------_

_She stands, watching as her master fades away. He only confirmed her suspicions. She stares down at her hands, counting on her fingers who's left, Echo, Hunter, Fluer, Echo, Hunter, Fluer._

_When his figure finally fades away completely, the darkness creeps in again. Honestly, she's getting tired of it, the threatening darkness, she knows if she stops that it will swallow her and she will die, not only here but in real life as well but it's just so cliche. "The inky black of the unknown." She mutters. "Yeah, 'cause that's not insane." She rolls her eyes._

_The darkness surges towards her, almost taunting her, "Yeah, yeah! I get it! Keep moving! Back off!" She pushes through the branches, not knowing where she is or where she's going._

_\----------------------_

Walking Calum and Maud to the safe house is tense, Crosshair's fingers twitch, in the civilian clothes he has to rely on just his enhanced vision alone, no fancy scopes or range finders to help him. The rest of them are coiled, ready to strike if anything happens. Drop-offs are always the worst, they could handle the retrieval with relative ease, but it all comes down to getting them safe. 

Hunter has a knife in one hand, it glints in the neon lights of the underworld. Maud walks next to him, "Will Flora know where we are?" She asks. 

"It was in the briefing." Hunter's reply is clipped, his tone reflects the situation. 

Maud hums in response. 

Callum speaks up, "Is there any way to be notified when she wakes up? Her and Ferox are practically our family. Please?" 

"I'll have someone contact you when she wakes up. For now, everyone needs to shut up." Hunter says through gritted teeth. 

Maud visibly starts at his command. Her eyebrows furrow and she frowns down at her boots. 

Crosshair fiddles with his sidearm under his jacket when she looks back his way. 

"We're almost there." Tech cuts through the tense silence. 

The building is run down, on the lower level there's a shop that now reminds him of Miss Estrella's bookstore, it's full of odds and ends concealing security equipment, above is a small apartment. "Home sweet home!" Wrecker shakes Callum a bit. The boy just laughs nervously. 

"Stay here, keep an eye out. I'll be back." Hunter disappears into the shop. 

With him gone the tension eases just the littlest bit, "There's a bookstore not far from here, a few levels up. It's one of Flora's favorite places to go when we have leave," Tech tells Maud, "It's run by an old woman, Miss Estrella. She's Miraluka, she has no eyes." He can tell Tech is nervous, his babbling always gets worse on these kinds of missions. Maud just smiles and nods when he launches into a lengthy explanation about why the Miraluka left their original home planet. 

Callum's eyes don't leave the beings walking past, Crosshair absently wonders if he was as sheltered as Ferox was if he were to ask as many questions if given the chance or if his mother explained all of this to him. 

Hunter walks out of the shop, a key card in hand. "These will get you upstairs. I'll make sure someone finds you if Flora wakes up. For now, we need radio silence, you don't leave that apartment until you are given an all-clear. No comm contact with anyone, don't open the door for anyone or anything. Do you both understand?" 

The woman reaches out, clasping her hands over Hunter's, "Thank you, Sargent. For everything." She gives him a warm smile. "She'll wake up. Just have a little faith." She releases his hand and turns, wrapping an arm around her son's shoulders. There's a smile on her face as she walks through the door. 

\----------------------------

_The rain had started, an evening shower had turned into a downpour soaking her many layers, chilling her down to the bone. She pulls the cloak tighter around herself, trying to block out at least a little bit of the water dripping from the leaves above her. Shivers wrack her small frame as she trudges through the mud. "This is fine. You're not actually in danger of frostbite because none of this is actually real." She whispers to herself._

_A glint in the soil next to the toe of her boot catches her attention, she bends and picks up the piece of wire, the copper tips frayed and exposed, when she scans the ground there's a shard of metal. When she stoops to pick it up she recognizes the alusteel, used in prosthesis and starfighter hulls. She spots another piece before her stomach drops. Alusteel, used in prosthesis, "Echo!" Her scream echoes through the forest as she scrambles through the mud, following the trail of metal and wires._

_His prosthetics are twisted and gnarled, pieces of metal and wire are littered around him, the rain soaking the exposed circuits that are supposed to be keeping him alive. She frantically gathers up as many fragments as she can before she drops to the ground next to him, she shakes his shoulder, her voice cracks, "E-Echo?" She asks._

_Nothing. His eyes don't open._

_"Echo!" She shakes him harder, dropping a handful of wires to rub her knuckles over his sternum, where is his chest plate? Or any of his armor?_

_Still nothing._

_She sits back on her heels, she doesn't have any of the equipment needed to check his vitals. If only she had her medpack, even just a scanner._

_The rain beats down on his exposed skin, she already knows that he's gone, too many of the components are missing from his body._

_She stands, gathering as many of the components as she can find, placing them in a neat pile beside him, the only thing she has time for, he deserves more she knows that._

_She lets her head drop, letting the rain run down her hair and face, the icy streams almost numbing the hurt in her chest. She tilts her head to the sky, her eyes slipping shut as she holds the last piece of alusteel against her lips, pressing a kiss to it before laying it on his chest, where it belongs._

_She doesn't look back at him, she knows the darkness will cover him again and he'll be gone. Just like the_ _rest_ _of them._

_\------------------------------_

Echo sits in the pilot's seat, flipping switches and running diagnostics on the _Maurader._ Tech will probably get onto him but he needs the busy work. He's been tasked with watching Ferox as if the teenager who was helping run a rebellion needs a babysitter. 

The boy in question has taken to staring blankly at the wall. "That durasteel must be real exciting." Echo doesn't even look up from the datapad in his hand. 

"Huh? Oh." Ferox squeezes his eyes shut and shakes his head. "I'm just tired. Sorry." 

Echo rolls his eyes, "Go to sleep then, you know where the racks are." 

Ferox lets out a ragged sigh, "The cat tried to smother me." 

"Don't let 'er sleep on your face then. You're bigger than she is." Echo turns towards him.

The kid just stares at his hands. "I keep dreaming about her." 

Echo sighs, there it is. He stands from the pilot's seat and moves to the kid. "What do you see?" He asks. 

"She's- she's" Ferox stutters, tears filling his eyes. 

Echo pulls him close, his hand on the back of his neck, forehead pressed to his, just like he used to do with brothers that needed help, "What did you see?" He asks again. 

"Bodies. She was standing over dead bodies. She stood over me, crying, screaming, pulling at her hair." The tears stream down his face. "I can't sleep until she wakes up. I can't keep seeing her like that." The boy whimpers. "I can't." 

Echo lets Ferox cling to him, the boy buries his face into his neck and lets out choked off sobs. "I've got you. I'm not going anywhere." He keeps telling Ferox. He's just a kid, maybe sixteen standard years, if that even. This is something he should never have had to deal with. "Shh. I've got you." He cards a hand through the kid's hair, trying to calm him. "She's okay. She'll wake up soon." It feels like he's trying to convince himself more than the boy at this point in time. "It's okay."

\---------------------------------

Rodak looks at her, the sun has long since dipped below the horizon leaving her room lit by the many monitors surrounding her. Her skin is streaked in black lines, the smooth pale green an almost ghastly grey. Tubes are placed in her nose and mouth, helping to suction out the blood that keeps pooling in her stomach, to help her breathe. A chest tube has also been placed, a grey liquid being pulled from her lungs, without the tubes she would die, he tries to tell himself that it's helping her survive, helping her to beat whatever is happening in her mind. The Force is telling him that she will survive, but he's starting to question what The Force is telling him. He's never questioned The Force before, but now that this war is in full swing and he loses more and more friends, he finds himself questioning The Force every day. 

He lays a gentle hand on Flora's arm. She has turned into an amazing healer, an amazing soldier, better than anything he could have ever hoped for in an apprentice. She has grown so much since the day she was assigned to him. 

_The girl looks up at him with large, colorful eyes. They flit around the hall nervously, never staying in one spot for very long. She pulls nervously on her braid, the bandages around her neck look freshly changed._

_"I trust that you remember Master Kafirm?" Master Windu asks._

_She briefly meets Rodak's eyes, "Yes sir, I do."_

_"Good, Master Kafirm, this is your new apprentice, Flora Grimm." Master Windu tells him. "I will leave you to it. May The Force be with you both." With a final nod,Master Windu turns and leaves._

_"I was on my way to The Halls of Healing, care to join me?" Rodak asks the girl._

_"Of course... Master." She tries the word. A small smile forms on her lips._

_"How is your throat?" He asks her._

_Her eyes grow wide and her hand shoots up to the injury, he can feel the fear and panic radiating off of her, "I changed the bandages earlier. It will take a while to heal." She tells him._

_"More than likely yes, I may give you some bacta for it later." He tells her as they walk through the Hall._

_"I've never used bacta. What is it exactly?" She asks her tone switches from scared to curious._

_"It's a gel made from two different kinds of bacteria, it helps regrow tissue and heal at a drastically faster pace." He explains._

_He brows furrow as she looks down at her boots, " Interesting, we just used magic to heal." She tells him._

_"I will teach you to use your magic and conventional healing. How does that sound, young one?" Rodak asks._

_"I would like that, Master." She gives him a lopsided grin._

_\-------------------------_

"Sarge, earlier you said 'if' she wakes up, didn't you mean 'when'?" Tech asks as they walk back to the ship. _If_ had never been in Hunter's vocabulary. 

Hunter sighs, his body is still rigid, muscles tensed like he's ready for an attack. "Drop it, Tech." He growls. 

Tech gapes at his Sargent. Luckily, Crosshair doesn't miss a beat, "You don't think she's going to wake up." His voice is low and dangerous, "You think she's just gonna die." 

"Cross, don't-" Wrecker starts.

Hunter turns and stalks towards the sniper, "You saw how bad she was. How many tubes were sticking out of her?! How is she supposed to come back from that?! She's already dead."

Tech has no idea what happened between last seeing her and now, what was Hunter's mind telling him? Hunter saw an explosion almost take off Wrecker's head, he saw them being pricked and prodded before being shoved into the field, he saw Echo under the Techno Union's control. Hunter has seen countless horrible things, why is this one the one that makes him question everything. 

"The Jedi said she would survive." Crosshair is in Hunter's face now, if this doesn't stop soon it will lead to a fistfight. 

Hunter grabs a fist full of Crosshair's collar and drags him to the ground. Tech looks between the two before he decides. He steps forwards and hauls Hunter off of Cross, dragging him before pushing him up against a wall in the nearby alley, "Tech," Hunter growls at him, trying to throw him off. Not a lot of people realize that Tech has just about as much strength as any other clone. He slams Hunter's back into the wall again. 

"No." Tech's voice dips in volume. "You don't get to talk about her like that! We were given a prognosis and until we are told otherwise you don't get to say she's going to die. That's not for you to decide. She decides. You don't." He finally lets go of him, taking a step back. "Keep it to yourself." 

Tech turns on his heel and walks out of the alley, Crosshair is there with Wrecker, a bruise forming on his cheek and a murderous glint in his eyes. Tech pokes him in the chest, "Don't," He warns the sniper. 

"Echo and Ferox are waiting, we should get back." Wrecker suggests awkwardly. 

Tech takes another look at his brothers, "Yea, let's go." 

\------------------------

_The darkness is moving faster, forcing her to almost sprint to keep up, she can hear fighting in the distance, metal clashing against plastoid, it has to be Hunter. He's still alive._

_She tries to speed up even as exhaustion creeps into the corners of her vision, threatening to smother her. She can't relent, she has to get to him._

_When she bursts out of the trees she sees them, Hunter has a vibroknife in hand, swinging it expertly, trying to disarm his opponent. He stabs at them but she dodges the blow._

_She finally recognizes who he's fighting, the grey,and red plastoid blur as she moves. The left arm of her armor has a vine running down it, curving and arching, the thorns and flowers stand out from the dark paint. The skull painted on the helmet mocks her opponent. She staggers back, it all makes sense now, the shots from the woods came from her blaster, her DC-17m put those shots through Crosshair and Tech. She can see the blood still staining her gloved hand from her father's chest, the same hand that holds a glass dagger, the same one that's at the bottom of the lake on Naboo._

_"Why are you doing this?" Hunter shouts at his assailant._

_She just laughs, a cold and bitter sound, her blade slices through the air and he just barely misses the blow. "I'm doing this because of her." The voice sends shivers down her spine, it's not human, it's something stronger, something evil. It echoes in the clearing. She points her blade at Flora._

_Hunter has to take a second look at the woman standing at the edge of the clearing, but it costs him. He lets his guard down just long enough for her to plunge the blade in his chest and twists it. With a cry, he falls to his knees._

_"Hunter!" She calls to him, running across the clearing, somehow she knows that the creature in front of him won't attack her. She catches him just as he falls forward. "I'm here." She settles his head onto her lap. Her hands shake as she looks at the knife sticking out of his chest, "It'll be okay."_

_The creature paces in front of her, wearing her armor, carrying her weapons. "It was tracking us, we split up." Hunter groans. He coughs and bright red blood spews from his lips, splattering on her chest and neck. "It's not you. Just looks like you." He whispers._

_So this was her biggest fear? Herself? She has to fight herself, without weapons or armor? A rattling breath shakes her from her thoughts, she looks down to see his eyelids fluttering, "Hunter, Hunter! Stay with me, sweetie. Come on." She shakes him lightly and his eyes open._

_His gloved hand reaches for her face, "It's alright, Princess." He tries to comfort her. She catches his hand and presses it against her cheek, "You're almost done." He tells her. "Then you can come back to us."_

_She nods and blinks away the tears in her eyes, "I'm not leaving you. I'm not letting you die alone."_

_His breathing is ragged and blood streams out from around the dagger. "Come back to us, Flora." He sighs and his eyes slip shut._

_She gently places him on the ground before she stands and faces the creature, "What are you?" She asks it._

_The beast takes off her helmet, the veins in her face are black, her eyes are the same terrifying green as the Elders and her teeth are pointed and sharp. "Oh sweetheart, I'm you."  
_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I finally got this chapter done, I rewrote it so many times. It was eating away at me. 
> 
> Thanks for reading! Stay safe and sane out there everyone!!


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: MONSTERS, VIOLENCE (gUN AND KNIFE), BLOOD, DEAD BODIES, DEATH, MEDICAL PROCEDURES, PANIC ATTACKS

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Hope you enjoyed, leave me some feedback!

_The creature circles around her, teeth bared. She stoops and wrenches the knife out of Hunter's chest, "They were so confused. Kept asking, 'Who are you?' 'What did you do to her?' 'Why are you doing this?' They don't catch on very quickly."_

_Flora watches her move, she's seen HUD footage of herself in the field, this thing moves exactly like her. The creature wipes the dagger off on the back of her glove. "I hope you aren't as stupid as they were. This will be a very boring fight." She tucks the dagger into her belt, "Come on, Reaper. Let's have some fun." The creature grins at her, her hands glowing, she rushes forward._

_Flora sidesteps her and throws up a shield. The creature's fist slams against the barrier, absorbing the magic. "Oh don't be like that." The creature grins at her. "Or are you a coward just like the rest of them were?"_

_Anger flares in Flora's stomach, she drops the shield and starts to circle around towards Hunter's body, his vibroknife sits a few feet from him, if she could just get a hold of it she might have an extra advantage over her._

_She rushes again, sending a blast towards her, Flora dives out of the way just in time for the blast to scorch the grass where she was standing. She lets the anger and grief flow through her, lets it build and fester in her chest before turning towards the creature, hands raised as she sends a blast her way, it hits her in the chest plate but it doesn't seem to slow her down. "There you go!" The creature taunts._

_Flora moves closer to Hunter again, just a few steps. The wind has picked up again, a storm moving in. A few more steps, almost there._

_She sends another blast towards her, the blasts continue to get stronger as she dodges them. Flora slips in the grass, falling next to Hunter's body. She takes the opportunity to grab his sidearm from its holster and slip it into her waistband, covering it with her cloak. She snags the knife as she stands, turning back to the beast._

_"Do you really think that toothpick is going to help you? It didn't do him any good," The creature gestures to Hunter, taunting him, it makes Flora's stomach flip._

_"Didn't anyone tell you not to speak ill of the dead, it's rude." Flora growls._

_"They're just clones, they were made to die." The creature tells her._

_Flora's blood boils, how does this thing look like her? Walk like her? Wear her armor and carry her weapons? Her hands glow, the white light surges around her as she rushes, swinging at the beast. Her punch connects and the creature growls, the inhuman sound just makes her angrier. She swings again, this time hitting her square in the face, it slides across the clearing, panting and out of breath. "They're not just clones."_

_The creature draws the dagger, spinning it in between her gloved fingers, the red of Hunter's blood still stains it, "You won't be able to wake up and see them again anyway," The creature raises the dagger to her face, "Do you know how these daggers are made?"  
_

_Flora circles the creature, waiting for her next move, "No, I don't."_

_The creature spins the blade, "Everything that's used is enchanted, from the tools to the glass, the glass is reused, they melt down the daggers from families whose bloodlines have been wiped out, from combat or just age, doesn't matter, it gets repurposed. The new one is crafted by a very skilled glass smith, the skill passed down through the generations, then a spell is spoken over it, and the crest is stamped onto the hilt. This one was in your family's name for hundreds of years, and you threw it into a lake." The beast smiles, "Now it'll be your demise."_

_\------------------------_

"Master Kafirm, we need you in room six!" Shala shouts down the ward, he can already hear the monitors blaring. Nurses rush into her room and start shouting orders to each other, trying to get her stable. Rodak pushes one of them aside to get a better look when he walks into her room, she looks worse, the black tendrils travel across her face and neck, her eyes roll back in her head as she writhes against the biobed. The nurses turn her when the convulsions start, "Shala, give her another dose of anticonvulsants." 

"Sir, she's maxed out. I can't give her anymore." Shala responds. 

Rodak doesn't respond for a moment, placing his fingertips to her temple. _She circles around a clearing, vibroblade in hand. A creature stands opposite of her, eyes glowing green, a wicked smile on its face._

_The creature rushes but Flora blocks easily. He knows this is it. This fight will determine if she lives or dies. He isn't sure what the outcome is supposed to be but he knows that he will find out soon enough._

_He backs out of her head, leaving her to her fight._

"What did you see?" Shala asks. 

"There are only two outcomes, she wakes up or she dies. We can't decide for her." He tells her. "We will know very soon." 

\-------------------------

It's silent, the barracks are never this quiet. Wrecker stares at the bunk above his, where Crosshair is probably just staring at the ceiling above him. Tech tries to cuddle in closer, the youngest of the squad buries his face in Wrecker's chest, something he's always done when he's upset, seek out comfort from his family. Wrecker runs a hand through Tech's hair, trying to soothe him, maybe if he gets some sleep he might feel better. 

A sniffle catches him off guard, it either came from Hunter or Echo, he's not going to ask. If this is what it takes for them to process what's happening then so be it. 

Wrecker turns his head to watch Ferox, the kid has his back to the wall and is curled in on himself, Glitch has curled into him, somehow wedging her tiny body into what little space she can find. His breathing is steady and even, the exhaustion finally took over. Wrecker sighs, at least one of them is getting some rest. 

He tries not to think about her, trying not to worry about what could happen if their medic no longer existed. Who would clean their wounds and heal their bruises? Who would calm Hunter down when he's overstimulated and overwhelmed? Who's going to monitor the amount of caf that Tech consumes while working on projects? Nobody would be there to comfort Cross when his self deprecating thoughts take over. None of them can soothe Echo's phantom pains like she can. He tries not to think about how she won't be there with her soft touches and gentle eyes when he needs them most. They would have to learn to live without her again. The thought makes tears form in his eyes, they can't lose her too.

\-----------------------

_The creature rushes, dagger in hand, swinging at Flora viscously. She barely dodges before she swipes at her with her own blade. If only she got an opening to grab the blaster, she could end this fight much faster._

_The creature growls as the blade bounces off her armor, "You think you can beat me? Is that it? You think you'll be able to wake up and everything will go back to the way it was?"_

_Flora sidesteps as the creature slices at her, the blade catching on her cloak. She tries to stab into the spaces between plates, if she can immobilize even one limb she could get the upper hand._

_The beast swings a glowing fist at her, striking her in the side. Flora stumbles, her boots slipping on the wet grass. Thunder cracks overhead, the storm is here. She rights herself, just before the beast kicks her in the chest, pushing her back a feet few. She takes the opportunity to pull the blaster and point it at the beast. It smiles back at her, "You think that will kill me? Go ahead and try."  
_

_Flora pulls the trigger without a second thought, the bolt pierces through the creature's armor but she stays standing, the same wicked smile painting her face. She pulls the trigger twice more, putting two more holes in her chest plate. She tosses the weapon before brandishing her knife again._

_An idea strikes her, maybe the only way to defeat it is with the dagger. The magic in it might just be enough to break the curse. She tucks the vibroblade into her cloak before she attacks, both hands are blazing and ready._

_The beast meets her halfway, and they slam into each other, she loses sight of the arm holding the dagger as she grapples with the armor, trying to find leverage until searing pain lances through her stomach. The beast smiles at her, "See?"_

_Flora gets a shaky hand around the hilt of the dagger and yanks, pulling it out of her stomach. The creature watches her with a nasty smile, her teeth bared as she tilts her head side to side._

_She manages to flip the dagger and slices a broad arc across the creature's throat, its eyes grow wide as the blood wells up to the surface. It's gloved hands come up to try and staunch the flow of blood as it falls to its knees._

_The pain is getting worse, shifting from hot and searing to cold and throbbing, somewhere her mind tells her she's losing too much blood as she stumbles across the clearing towards where Hunter's body lays still. Her legs give out and she finds herself staring at the sky, lightning flashes overhead, she reaches for Hunter's hand, clutching it, "I'm so sorry." Tears stream down her face._

_The cold starts to take over her body, numbing the pain a bit. She lets her head lull to the side as her eyes flutter and her hearing muffles, "Flora. Flora, look at me!" Someone calls._

_Her eyes flash open and Fluer is standing above her, "Flrrrr-" She tries to say her sister's name._

_"I'm so sorry, Flora. For everything. They need you, Ferox needs you. Go back to them." Fleur reaches out a hand and brushes the strands of hair off of her forehead with a sad smile, "Just remember I love you, and that I'm sorry." Flora lets her eyes close, the pain fades away into the darkness creeping into her mind. Everything is calm and quiet._

_The sounds of alarms worm their way into the silence, multiple voices talking in a rushed manner. She fights them, tries to push them out. "Go to them, Flora." Her sister tells her. "Go home."_

Her eyes flash open, her throat burns, she chokes when she tries to take a deep breath, "She's waking up!" Someone shouts. Her hands scrabble at the tube, trying to yank it out. "Sedate her!" She tries to push at the hands holding her down but she's too weak, her eyes meet her master's before her body relaxes and darkness creeps in. 

\--------------------- 

Rodak stares at the communicator in his hand. "Are you going to tell them she's awake?" Shala asks from the monitors, she types away at her datapad, inputting Flora's vital signs, "She's improving. Already breathing on her own." Shala switches off the light, casting the room back into darkness, the lights of Coruscant give the room a warm glow. 

"They'll want to see her." Rodak sighs. 

"I'm sure we'll figure out something. Remember Master Billaba?" Shala gently reminds him. 

He nods, "Of course. Give me a few moments if you will."

Shala smiles at him before she takes her leave.

\------------------------

His communicator cuts through the darkness, the blinking light feels like a flash grenade going off in front of his tired eyes, "Sargent Hunter," He groans. 

_"Hunter, she woke up. Already breathing on her own. You will be able to see her in the morning, get some rest."_ General Kafirm's voice flows through the device.

It takes a moment for the words to register in his sluggish mind. Tech sits up straight across the room, "She woke up?" He blurts. "She's okay?"

 _"She has a lot of recovering to do over the next few weeks, but for now yes, she is."_ General Kafirm tells them. _"There's no reason to worry. Get some rest. All of you."_

"Yes, sir." Hunter cuts the line and flops back, pressing the heels of his hands into his eyes. He was wrong, he was preparing for her death, trying to distance himself from anything and everything that was _her._ A shaky breath escapes him. She's going to be okay. 

\-----------------------

Tech shakes Wrecker, "Wrecker, wake up." His brother groans and tries to bury his face back into his pillow, Tech just shakes harder. "Wrecker, she woke up." Just saying the words makes his stomach do somersaults. She's okay, she's going to live, just like they said she would. He knew if he trusted the facts and the science that everything would be okay just like it always was. 

\-----------------------

Echo stares at the ceiling, tears drip silently down his face. He thought he lost her again, he thought he watched her die. Hearing the utter joy in Tech's voice as he wakes up Wrecker makes the news even better. 

Echo sits up and walks over to Ferox's bunk, when he lays a hand on the kid's shoulder as he sits on the edge of the mattress he blinks his eyes open, "Echo?" He groggily asks. 

"She woke up. General Kafirm said we could see her in the morning." He tells him. 

The boy lunges forward and wraps Echo in a hug, "She's okay?" He asks into his shoulder.

Echo wraps his good arm around the boy's shoulders, "She's okay. She'll be just fine."

\----------------------

Crosshair doesn't say anything, just stares at the device still wrapped loosely in Hunter's hand. He tries to keep his breathing even and slow, but he just feels like everything is crashing down around him. She woke up, she came back just like he asked her too. She came back, she's alive. She proved them wrong. He raises a shaky hand and presses it against his erratic heartbeat. She came back. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Part of me was just like "What if I just killed her off? How mad would these people be at me?" Then I realized that I am way too emotionally invested in Flora and it would kill me to kill her off. 
> 
> Also, it's snowing where I live!! AHH! I'm so excited!! 
> 
> Thanks for reading!!


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for reading! Thanks for stopping by! Leave me some feedback.

"She doesn't look good. The Healers have already visited her, she has two more sessions with them today. She'll be here for the next week at least. But, she's breathing on her own, we were able to remove the breathing and chest tubes, as well as the NG tube that was sucking out the fluids and blood pooling in her stomach." General Kafirm explains.

The first thing Hunter noticed was how bright The Halls of Healing are, natural light fills the corridors through the floor to ceiling windows. The next thing he notices is the smell or lack thereof, it doesn't smell like bacta and disinfectant, nothing like the medbays of the GAR, that he dreads so much. 

"-Just be prepared, she may be out of it for the next few days." General Kafirm stops in front of a door, "Shala, how is she this morning?" 

The Nautolan woman smiles, "She's doing well, vitals are still improving, hopefully, she will be off supplemental CO2 by this evening." She reports. 

"Good, thank you." The General nods towards her.

\--------------------

The sounds of multiple muffled voices filter into her consciousness, she blinks against the bright morning light, rubbing at her eyes. When everything focuses she realizes where she is, The Halls of Healing, one of the intensive care rooms by the look of it. 

The next thing she registers is the stiffness in her joints, she rolls her head from side to side before stretching out her arms, she didn't even realize the number of tubes coming from her chest and both arms, an IV in each arm, thick bandages over her wrist and forearm. 

The door slides open revealing Master Kafirm and Hunter, "Master," Her voice croaks out, it doesn't sound anything like her. Her master picks up a glass of water and offers the straw to her, the cold water feels wonderful sliding against her sore throat, "Tube?" She asks, her voice sounding more like herself. 

"Intubation and NG. We were worried about you." Her master says softly. 

Hunter cautiously makes his way around her bed, he gently encases her hand in his, when she looks at him she can tell he's about to cry. 

\--------------------

The General was right, she does look horrible, her eyes are still an inky black, the same color traces the veins in her face, she's incredibly pale, but he's never wanted to kiss her more than he does right now. 

Crosshair can tell that she's fighting exhaustion, the dark circles under her eyes prove his point. Wrecker moves to the other side of the biobed, he smooths the hair from her forehead and whispers to her. 

Echo stands next to Crosshair, leaning against the doorframe, she looks to them and smiles softly before reaching out a hand, beckoning them to her. "Hey, Wildflower, how ya feelin'?" Echo asks, lacing their fingers together. 

"Like I was cursed." She slurs, grinning up at him. 

"Well, you look like you were cursed." Hunter buts in. 

She tries not to laugh as she levels a glare at their leader but it doesn't work, she snorts out a laugh before she grasps at her throat, "Oh, I can't do that yet." 

Crosshair watches the relief seep into each of his brothers, their shoulders relax and the worry that plagued their faces smooths away, he feels himself smiling at the sound of her voice. 

\---------------------

Ferox watches from the doorway, taking Echo and Crosshair's place. She smiles weakly at each of them and lets them fuss over her. Echo laces their fingers together and he looks away, it seems like an intimate moment he isn't supposed to see. 

"Ferox." She calls to him, her voice raw, "Come here." She motions him over, he sits on the edge of her bed, focusing on the floor. 

"It's good to see you awake." He tells her. 

"I'm glad to be awake, where's Fleur?" She asks. 

The room goes silent. 

\----------------------

She knows before they even answer, their heads drop to the floor, Hunter squeezes his eyes shut and takes a shaky breath. 

_"I'm so sorry, Flora. For everything. They need you, Ferox needs you. Go back to them. Just remember I love you, and that I'm sorry."_ Her sister's voice echoes through her head. 

Tech pushes off the wall he's been leaning on, "She became a flight risk, she went for the reactor room. Her blasts were sloppy and uncoordinated, she would have destroyed the ship. We didn't have a choice." 

She sits up with the help of Wrecker and reaches for her brother, placing a hand on his shoulder, "It's alright. I don't blame you, any of you. She made her choice." She closes her eyes when her head swims, taking a shaky breath. 

"We need to let her rest. Come. All of you." Master Kafirm ushers them out and she lets herself sag back against the pillows, trying to fight the exhaustion for just a bit longer, just until they're gone. 

\-----------------------

"I would like one of you to stay with her. It's been proven beneficial if there's a loved one present during inpatient stays." General Kafirm stops them outside of Reaper's door. 

"I thought clones weren't allowed to stay in The Temple?" Tech asks. 

"The Chief Healer is out on a mission, herself. That means I can bend the rules just a bit. My apprentice deserves the best care possible and that's what she'll get." The Torgruta crosses his arms over his chest. "Now, who's staying with her today?" 

Nobody moves, just eyes darting to one another, Tech shrinks back, and Hunter shakes his head with a firm 'no'. 

"She will most likely sleep for most of today. If that helps the decision any." General Kafirm waits patiently.

Crosshair rolls his eyes before pushing off the wall and walking back into her room, making the choice for them, he knows that Tech doesn't have the patience to watch her sleep, she isn't well enough for Hunter to dote on and Wrecker will just want to touch her, Echo has Ferox to worry about.

He isn't surprised to see her sleeping already, she was in a magically induced coma for almost a week. Her chest rises rhythmically, the rise and fall even and peaceful. 

He places his helmet at her feet before pulling the chair in the corner of her room closer to her bedside. She doesn't stir as he sits and reclines back, crossing his arms over his chest. The sunlight is warm and he finds himself dozing off in the peace and quiet of the Temple. 

\----------------------

Echo is surprised when Crosshair walks into her room. If it were just a second later it would have been him walking back into that room. Tech turns to him, "I would like to start working on your hand. It would be a good distraction," It's almost like he's saying it more to himself. "I also need to work on her new helmet." That part is barely above a whisper.

Tech looks as exhausted as Echo feels, when he takes off his goggles to rub at his eyes he can see just how dark the circles under his eyes look. "Let's get some sleep first, we have plenty of time, can't have you runnin' on empty."

Tech nods and slips his goggles back on, "Alright." He agrees. If Echo has learned anything with this group it's that when Tech gives one-word responses it means he's about to fall over. 

Echo puts his am around his shoulders and Tech leans into the contact, "Hunter, we'll see you when you get back to the barracks." 

\-----------------------

It's warm and quiet, her eyes open as she stretches out her limbs, she turns her head to see Crosshair dozing, the top had of his armor discarded and stacked neatly in the corner of the room, his bootless feet propped up on the edge of the bed. He must sense her eyes on him as he stirs, he blinks a few times before his eyes focus on her, "You're awake." 

She notices the dark bruising on his face, underneath one of his eyes, "Your face. You got into a fight." She reaches out to him and he meets her hand as she runs her fingertips across the bruise and down his jaw, "Who was it this time?" She asks.

Crosshair's eyes drop to the floor, not looking her in the eye when he tells her, "Hunter. 'Said you wouldn't wake up." 

She feels the pull of exhaustion and she blinks, trying to stay awake, "Not going anywhere, Cross. Promise." She mumbles. 

"Go to sleep." He tells her, his voice already distant. She nods. 

\------------------------

He straightens when two Jedi come through her door, they bring with them the feeling of serenity and peace. It almost takes his breath away. He stands to leave, intent on standing out in the hall until they're finished but one of them stops him, a soft smile on his face, "Stay, you make her feel safe. We need her as comfortable as possible." It's more of an order than a suggestion. 

The woman with him steps forward, Crosshair notices a crystal in her open palm but doesn't ask about it. "Flora, my name is Ada. I'll be one of your healers today. My partner here is Naid." She talks to Reaper in a calm, level voice.

Crosshair feels like he's intruding on a sacred ritual, the two move almost in sync, their motions fluid and practiced. The woman motions for him and he freezes. She sighs, "Come here." He stands and silently moves to Reaper's bedside. "Give me your hand." He wants to run, leave the room, he knew he should have let Echo stay with her instead. "Calm down." His mind quiets when the woman speaks. "Give me your hand." She repeats, holding out her hand to him. When he finally reaches out she smiles, "Good, I'm going to place your hand on her forehead. I need her as relaxed as possible, which means you need to be as relaxed as possible. Understand?" He can feel the frown on his face, he is out of his element here, this is not what he does. He doesn't do soft, he doesn't do gentle, he doesn't do whatever _this_ is. "Just relax." The woman reminds him. He lets his eyes slip closed as she places his hand on Reaper's forehead, he feels her hair trying to move under his hand and he weaves his fingers into gently. 

"Crystal, please." Naid orders. 

That's when he feels it, the crystal gives off a warmth like he's never felt before. He opens his eyes to see the woman, her hands poised over Reaper's abdomen, her palms facing downwards. Naid has placed the crystal on her chest, his hand touching it, the rock pulses, a light flickering from within it. 

They stay like that for several minutes, the healer's focusing the living Force through Flora's body, Crosshair running his fingers through her hair, trying to keep her calm, keep her safe. 

When they finally pull back, they wrap the crystal in a cloth and give him a nod, "May The Force be with you." They turn and exit the room, taking the warmth and peace with them. 

Crosshair stands for a few more moments, running his fingers through her hair. When her eyes flutter back open they look better, patches of inky black mix with the colors of her iris, she gives him a smile before her eyes flutter shut again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You can't tell me Cross isn't a housecat, he loves high places, he's a jerk to everyone, give my mans a sunbeam and he'll tolerate you forever.
> 
> Well, this week was a shitshow, at least here in America. But things are looking up! It was hard to write I was a bit distracted with everything. I also got a pet rabbit, so that's been super fun. 
> 
> I hope everyone is staying safe and sane out there. I hope everyone has a great week! Thanks for reading!


	14. Chapter 14

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello again! Sorry for the slow update, lives been a little crazy. Enjoy and let me know what you think!

"Hi. Um, I'm here to visit Flora Grimm." A voice approaches the nurse's station. 

Shala stands and smiles at the boy, "I'm her nurse. Follow me." She waves the boy in her direction and he follows, shifting his arms in a strange way. She has to hold in a laugh when a blue and purple tail sticks out of the collar of his shirt. He tries to discreetly tuck the tail back in but the cat isn't having it, giving him a warning _mrr_ , which he tries to cover with a cough, giving her a wobbly smile. 

Some things you just have to let slide. 

She knocks on Flora's door, "Good morning Flora. You have a couple of visitors." She gives the boy a smile, "I'll be down the hall, don't hesitate if you need anything." 

\-------------------

Ferox seems to be trying to wrangle something under his shirt. Judging from the meows and hisses the creature is probably Glitch. She falls out the bottom of his shirt, tumbling to the ground while shaking her head. "Was she under there the whole way from the barracks?" She asks. 

"What? No! Some guy with a giant forehead told me there weren't any pets allowed in the temple. He called me a padawan? Had to be a Jedi, right?" Ferox asks. 

"You're in the Jedi Temple. So yeah, probably." Flora deadpans. 

Glitch jumps up and nudges her hand, "I think she missed you." Ferox says, "I missed you." He mumbles. 

She smiles at her brother, "Hey, I'm right here." She tells him. 

He tries to blink away the tears in his eyes, "You scared me." 

She sits up, holding open her arms and he lunges into them, "I'm right here, I'm not going anywhere. Okay?" She runs a hand through his hair, soothing him as he buries his face in her shoulder. 

After a while he speaks up, "Why does Crosshair snore so loud?" 

She tries to hold in the hysterical laughter but it's too much, her laughs echo around the room, every time she would try to stop and take a breath the laughter would wheeze out of her. Ferox pulls back and looks at her, concerned, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry." She takes a shaky breath, "I don't know why he snores, is he keeping you up?" 

The teen levels her with a glare, "Not one of them has a decent sleep schedule, I woke up to go the bathroom, and Tech and Echo were working on some project in the corner. In the middle of the night. Wrecker was eating, just staring at nothing. Does Hunter do anything besides sleep? How does he do his job if he's just passed out all the time?" She listens to her brother rant about his current roommates. 

"Echo and Tech were probably working on Echo's new hand. Have you seen the size of Wrecker? One of his snacks is like a week of meals for me," She smiles at her boys, "Hunter sleeps when he's on Coruscant. If he's not awake he has a headache. It's easier to let him sleep." She shrugs. 

Her brother just stares at her for a moment, "Do you love them?" He asks softly, "Because, I think they love you." 

She nods, "I do love them." 

"Have you told them?" He asks. 

"Yes, I have." She tells him. 

He sags in relief, "Good cause I thought they were all just keeping it all inside. Can you imagine what those feelings would have done to someone like Crosshair? He would have exploded."

"What do you have against Cross? Is it his face?" She jokes. 

"I think he can see into our souls." Ferox shivers. 

"His eyesight isn't that good." She laughs. 

He's quiet again, standing and moving to the window, "You'll go back out with them, right?" 

"Once I'm cleared for missions again, yes." She tells him.

His eyes move to the floor, "Where am I going to go?" 

She hasn't thought of that, he was supposed to stay on Tithea, she wasn't even supposed to see him. "I don't know yet. We'll figure it out." 

"I don't want to be taken in by the Jedi," He looks out onto Coruscant, "I'm not like them."

She understands, "That's alright. You don't have to stay with them. I'll find somewhere for you to stay. Once Maud and Callum are cleared, I'll make sure to get you somewhere near them," He deserves a mother figure in his life, Maud is the closest thing to that. 

"Will I see you?" He asks, not looking up from the ground.

"Of course you will, I'll give you my comm and I'll come to see you in between missions. I'm not leaving you again, I promise." She tells him, she wants to get up and go to him, lay her hand on his shoulder. 

"Everyone's gone. I just, I don't. What do I do?" When he looks back she can feel the pain he's in, the grief and loss. 

"First, what do we do on our planet when someone we love dies?" She asks. 

"The ritual. Bury them in the crypts. But, we don't have her. We aren't on Tithea anymore." He says. 

"What comes after the ritual? What do the warriors do?" She prompts him. 

"The ferns." He whispers. 

"That's right. We'll start with the ferns." She tells him. 

"I don't have any others, not like you do." He looks at her arms and the art swirling around them.

"This'll be your first then. Every warrior has to start somewhere." She hates the way she sounds, like someone wiser and older, she's still so young, he's just a kid. "We'll do it together." She reaches out her hand for him and he walks back to her bedside, taking it, "I'm not going anywhere. Not without you. I promise." She tells him. 

He looks at their intertwined fingers and gives her a watery smile, "Okay." 

She looks to the door before she smiles, "Help me out of this bed, I want to make some nurses mad." She grins.

Slowly, the same grin covers his face as he wipes his eyes. "You are such a pain in the ass," He laughs. 

She laughs, throwing off the covers, "You have no idea." 

\--------------------------

It's the third morning of Flora's stay when the soldier shaped like a mountain shows up, he's in full armor just like the skinny one was. She expects him to be loud and get in the way when he saunters over to the nurse's station, but his voice and demeanor are gentle when he says he's here to see her. 

He gives her a smile and a nod when she brings him to the door as a thank you. 

Flora is sitting on the window sill where she isn't supposed to be but she lets it go when she sees the bright smile on the young woman's face, "Thank you, Shala!" She calls as she walks away. 

\-------------------------

She looks so much better, there's color in her cheeks again. She sits by the window, watching Coruscant speed by. "Wrecker!" She smiles and gets up to hug him. 

He wraps his arms around her and tries not to crush her, "Glad you're feeling better, Speck." He says into her hair. 

She tries to burrow deeper into his chest plate, tightening her grip, "Sorry for scaring you." She murmurs. 

He pulls back to look at her, "Your better now. It's okay." 

She stands on her tiptoes to kiss him and he bends to meet her halfway, when their lips touch he shutters, she's here, she's alive, she's still with him. When she pulls away she settles against him again and he runs a hand through her hair. She blinks and yawns, "It's hard to sleep here, it's so quiet."

"Do you miss us or somethin'?" Wrecker laughs as he moves away from her to take off the top half of his armor, he wants to feel her through his blacks, remind himself yet again that she's alive. She yawns again, nodding. "C'mere." He motions her close again once the plates are stacked in the corner. She nuzzles into him and lets her eyes flutter shut with a sigh.

\---------------------------

Shala peeks into Flora's room, it's been oddly quiet, the healers only visiting once a day now that she was out of the woods. But still, the kid that was visiting yesterday had laughter floating down the hall almost the entire time he was there. 

The first thing she notices is the neat pile of armor in the corner, much like how the other clone stacked his, she also notices a blanket missing from the biobed. 

She ventures farther in, leaning against the doorway when she sees the trooper sitting in the chair, his arms wrapped around Flora, who sits sideways in his lap, her legs hanging over the edge of the chair, her face pressed into his neck. They're both fast asleep and don't look like they're waking up anytime soon. 

"Aren't they cute?" Stella asks from the other side of the hall, she types vitals into her datapad. 

"At least she's sleeping," Shala responds. 

Stella laughs, "You're just jealous."

Shala sighs, "You're not wrong." 

\----------------------------

Wrecker had just left when Ada and Naid come for their session, "Flora, it's good to see you awake. How do you feel?" Naid asks her.

"Sore. Everything still hurts. Not as bad, almost manageable." She tells him. 

"Hopefully with a few more sessions we can see if that pain fades," Ada tells her. "Now just relax." 

Force healing has always felt strange to her, it feels warm and bright, the first time she felt it she almost jumped out of her skin. She was used to the calm, cool of magic against her skin, this felt like live energy worming its way into her very soul. She takes a second to ground herself, twisting the blankets in her fingers, "Are you in any pain?" Naid asks. 

She shakes her head, "Feels different." She hopes that's enough of an explanation.

"Some species react to the Force differently. We'll be finished soon." Ada tells her. 

She stares at the ceiling, letting The Force work through her, the pain dulls, barely noticeable and she sighs. The feeling eventually fades and the healers take a step back. 

"We will see you again tomorrow, Flora. Have a good rest of your night." Naid nods towards her before they walk out. 

She stands, walking to the window, staring out at the setting sun, soon it'll be dark and she can watch the lights fly by. 

_"Why are there so many lights?" She asks her master, looking up at him._

_"Coruscant never sleeps, no matter what time of day." He says simply._

_She tries to wrap her head around that, billions of sentients always moving, going this way and that at all times of the cycle. "Where are the stars?"_

_This makes Master Kafirm look down at her, "The light pollution makes it so we can't see them. I like watching the people more than looking at the stars though."_

_She remembers laying in the grass with the twins, pointing out constellations, she never thought she would leave the planet of Tithea, she's sure she's seen some of the stars that they used to look at up close now._

_"You'll adjust soon." He tells her._

_She smiles as she looks out, "Hopefully."_

She watches as lights start to turn on across the horizon, the people below aren't phased by the dark. She sits on the windowsill, bringing her knees to her chest. The GAR facilities finally light up, she can see ships taking off and landing. Units going out and getting prepared for their next battles and missions. She knows that the rest of her team is there, probably spread out around the base, Tech would be working with Echo on his prosthesis, Crosshair on the training range, Hunter and Wrecker sparring. 

She can't help the next thoughts that crawl into her head, _Do they really need her? Is she just taking up space? Just taking up time?_ She focuses on the guard patrol in the garden below before she gets to her feet. 

She grabs the cloak that Ferox left the first day they all came to visit her, wrapping it around herself before she takes the bag of IV solution off of the pole. She sticks her head out of the door and looks up and down the hall, all clear. She just has to get past the nurse's station and she'll be home free. 

\--------------------------

Shala listens to Stella laugh at Naid's joke as they walk back to their rooms for the night when she notices something in the corner of her eye, a person in a dark grey cloak turns the corner, that in itself isn't unusual, she does work and live in the Jedi Temple of all places, no what was odd was the fact that they were barefoot, and their feet were green. 

"You alright?" Naid asks, nudging her.

"Oh yeah. All good." Shala smiles and nods to Naid who goes back to his story. 

She pulls up her comm, typing a message, _"Your apprentice just slipped by, she's on her way to the gardens. She's a shifty one."_

She then puts her comm away, enjoying her company for the night. 

\--------------------------

She lays back against the cool grass, her cloak pooling around her. She watches as a Venator crawls by, the only ships allowed in this airspace are military craft and there are plenty of those around these days. 

The Venator deploys its gunships and she counts each one as they descend. 

"If you wanted to sneak out you could have just asked." A voice tells her. 

"I wanted to be alone." She tells him. 

"The night nurses hadn't even noticed you were gone yet, Shala saw you." Her master sits next to her. 

"I'm a great asset on stealth missions." She replies dryly. 

"I bet." he moves her cloak aside and picks up the IV bag, placing it on the bench beside him. "This works better with gravity." He reminds her gently. "Why are you really out here? What's your head telling you?" He always knows, that's how she can read people so well, he taught her. 

"I was thinking of them, what they were doing. That's all." She only half lies. 

"They do need you. You're part of their team. What would they be without you?" He asks. 

"Fine. They would be fine." She continues to stare at the sky, a frigate passes, she wonders if it's outfitted for medical transport. 

"A team that's fine isn't a team at all." Rodak tips his head back, watching the ship pass. "We can look at it from a strategic standpoint. A four-person squad has everything they need, engineering and tech, a sniper, a weapons expert, and a leader. When one person is injured, they really lose two people, someone has to treat them. With a field medic assigned to missions if one person goes down the other three can still work to complete the mission without half the squad being unavailable." Rodak shifts, looking back down at her, "What did they do if something went wrong before they had a medic?" 

She sighs, "They hoped to make it to a med station in time." 

"Exactly. With you on the team, they have a much higher chance of survival." He says. 

"Unless I'm injured and almost die." Tears prick her eyes. 

"It's a risk you had to take to complete the mission." He tells her. 

"I could hear them when they were trying to fix my face," She traces her fingertip over the fresh scars, some of them aren't even healed all the way, "They were afraid, they aren't afraid of anything. I'm making them weak." 

"Flora, look at me." The man commands. 

She rolls her head, her eyes meeting his, "You're making them stronger. It may not seem like it but you are. They're stronger with you than without you." 

She stares back at the sky, another cluster of gunships moves across the sky, they blur for a moment when she blinks. She bites the inside of her lip, forcing the tears away. The metallic taste of blood helps to ground her, she takes a deep breath and lets it out slowly. "Alright," She says. 

Master Kafirm stands, "Go back to the Halls when you are feeling better, I'll let them know where you are so they don't bother you." He tells her. 

She reaches out, grabbing his ankle as he moves to step around her, "Thank you, Master." 

He smiles down at her, "Of course." 

\-------------------------------

The nurse smiles at Echo, "She spent most of last night in the gardens, last I checked she was still sleeping." 

"Did she sneak away?" He asks. 

"From what I've heard she's pretty good at just disappearing." She rolls her eyes. "This is her room. Let me know if you need anything." 

Echo presses the panel and the door slides open, Wildflower is curled up on her side, facing away from the windows and towards the door. He moves through the room, drawing the blinds, letting the cool darkness cover the room. 

She stirs, looking behind her, "Echo." A sleepy smile decorates her face. 

"Shh. Go back to sleep, Wildflower." He tells her. 

She scoots to the edge of the bed before tapping the open space, "Come lay with me?" She slurs. 

He can't refuse her, "Give me a sec, I'll be right there." He looks down at his new hand and his stomach flutters, he'll be able to hold her, link their fingers together. 

She nods, pulling the blanket tighter around her with a yawn. 

As soon as he lays down she drapes herself over him, an arm thrown around his waist and her head on his shoulder. He wraps his arm around her shoulders and drags her as close as he can, she nuzzles deeper into his chest, trying to soak up as much of his warmth as possible. 

Her eyes open and she blinks, a puzzled look on her face when he runs his prosthetic fingers over her soft shirt, "You have a hand." She mumbles, sitting up. She runs the sleep from her eyes, "Can I see?"

He nods, she holds his arm close to her face, inspecting it closely, "Tech took my advice, alusteel for most of it, durasteel on the fingertips. How's the interface? Any issues with sensation?" She starts to rattle off questions.

He reaches up and brushes her hair away from her face, it's soft. Everything about her is soft, she feels amazing against the new circuitry and sensors. She tries to sit up further but he stops her, "Hey now. You gotta get some rest. You can look at it after you sleep some." He gently pushes her back down onto the bed when she pouts, "Don't give me that face," He tries to keep the smile off of his lips.

She yawns again, blinking sleepily, "Fine." He lays back and she curls into him again, pulling the blankets over the both of them.

He runs his hand down her back as her eyes close, watching her face carefully, the scars are still deep and fresh, one of the longer ones isn't healed all the way, it stretches from the left side of the bridge of her nose almost to her ear. If she laughs or smiles too hard it would crack open and bleed. It hits him all at once that she almost dies and he clutches her closer with a shaky breath. When he looks down her cheek is squished against his shoulder and he smiles, "I love you, Flora." He whispers. 

"Love you too, Echo." She mumbles before finally drifting into sleep. 


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> TW: WEIGHT LOSS (mentions of seeing ribs and protruding collarbones.) SCARS FROM MEDICAL PROCEDURES (chest tube scar)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here I am! Thank you for reading, leave some feedback, positive or negative, doesn't matter to me!

She isn't surprised that Tech is here before the sun even rises, a helmet tucked under each arm. Shala pokes her head in and motions to him, "Why is he here so early? I just got here?" She asks. 

Flora shrugs, "That's just how he is." She unfolds herself from her spot on the windowsill when Shala waves him off, "She likes me less and less every day." She shoves her hands into her pockets as Tech watches her, his eyes scanning over her form in the dark. It feels like she's being put on display, critiqued, and criticized. She shifts her weight from foot to foot and looks down at her bare feet. 

He stalks his way over to her, pausing ever so briefly before wrapping his arms around her, dragging her close, just like the others did. A shaky breath escapes his lungs as he sags against her. He buries his face in her neck, pressing a kiss against her pulse point. She wraps her arms around him, her fingers find their way into the hair at the base of his neck, softly carding through the soft curls there. "It's alright. I'm right here." She mumbles to him. 

He pulls back and looks at her again, his eyes softened when he cups her face, rubbing his gloved thumb back and forth across her cheek, "You look so much better." He whispers, placing his forehead against hers. 

She smiles, "I feel much better." 

"Why aren't you asleep?" He asks, pulling back.

"Echo made me stay in bed the entire time he was here yesterday." She takes a step back towards the window, "I don't get to look at Coruscant like this very often. It's worth losing sleep over." He steps up next to her, the skyline reflects in his goggles as he takes it in, "Pretty, yeah?"

"I've never really seen the outside of the base like that." He says. "Not from this angle at least." 

She leaves him at the window and wanders over to the helmets he placed at the foot of her bed, she gently places a hand on his before she picks up the other, examining it in the dim light, the visor is tinted a green but it's see-through, the respirator portion is much larger and angular, "Echo had the idea to put a CO2 filtration system in it. We took inspiration from the Kel Dor's antiox masks. The visor will work similarly to mine, it will display everything you need to know about us and more. The bigger visor just means more information." He takes it from her and buffs off a spot on the visor with a gloved finger tip, "I just wanted you to be prepared to go back into the field. I'm not sure when you'll be cleared but that's alright." 

She smiles softly at him, "Thank you, Tech." 

"The rest of your armor needed a few repairs but they're already complete. Echo helped with those." He pauses for a moment, looking at the helmet intently, "He also cleaned all the blood off of it as well." 

She gently pries the helmet from his hands before she raises a hand to his cheek, holding it there, "I'm sorry. I'm sorry for scaring you." She wants to say that she's sorry for scarring them, all of them, they have to have those images in their minds for the rest of their lives. 

His posture drops, shoulders drooping, like all of the fight, was sucked out of him. He looks at her with tired eyes, "It wasn't your fault. You know that." He whispers. 

She moves closer to him, and starts working on unstrapping his pauldrons, "Why don't we get some rest? You look like you haven't slept much." She steers him over to the corner where the others put all of their armor as she strips away each plate and neatly stacks it. He melts under her touch, "You finished Echo's arm. You did a nice job." She makes idle conversation. 

"I wanted you there for the final fitting, just to make sure everything was alright with the nerves but he was excited to show you," Tech tells her. 

"I can always look over it later." she gently reaches up and slides his goggles off of his face, he blinks sleepily. "You're workin' yourself to death." 

"I just needed a distraction." He tells her. 

She smiles at him and drags him over to the bed, he crawls under the covers with no protest and she follows, curling up to his side when he wraps an arm around her, "Sweet dreams, Tech." 

\-------------------------------------

He can feel her eyes on him as he works on her helmet, she sits on the window sill watching Coruscant traffic go by in the bright early afternoon sun. The white tunic and pants make her looks soft and delicate, her bare feet poking out of the long hem. "The color white suits you." He chirps. 

"You think so? I don't know." She looks down at the tunic.

"I mean, you look great in anything." He shrugs, "Or nothing at all." He mumbles under his breath. 

"You're terrible." She deadpans. 

He clears his throat and changes the subject, "General Kafirm let us know that you'll be discharged tomorrow." He tells her.

"Oh good. I'm getting antsy and there's something Ferox and I need to do before our next mission." She says. He hums, trying to dig into what they need to do, "We have to do a ritual. That's all."

"A ritual?" He asks, tilting his head towards her. 

She hesitates for a moment, "When- um. When a loved one dies we get the Death Fern tattooed on our scalp. The remaining family shaves the sides of each other's heads." She pauses again, biting nervously at her lips, "It has to be done as soon as possible, usually it's done the same day they die, so the hair that's shaved off can be braided together and sealed in the crypts with the body." She looks down at her hands, "It'll be Ferox's first tattoo." She smiles sadly. 

He doesn't know what to say, "Oh." 

"We'll do it as soon as I get back to the barracks, he's still staying with you guys right?" She asks. 

"For now. Someone will notice that we have an extra Tithean hanging around soon." He tells her as he goes back to wiring the visor on her helmet. 

"I found him a place that's near Maud and Callum." Her tone is happier. 

"Where?" He asks, curious. 

"Miss Estrella's. She said he could stay if he helped around in the shop and he agreed. She could use the help, she is getting up there in age." She shrugs. 

"Don't tell her that." He grumbles, "She'll turn you into a tooka." 

She laughs, it still makes his heart flutter when she laughs, Hunter once said it sounded like bells, he doesn't see that but it is one of the most wonderful sounds. 

He doesn't even notice that he wired that panel wrong, "Shit!" He jerks his hand back as one of the circuits pops. 

"Woah! You alright?" She asks, kneeling down next to him and taking his burned hand. 

She's warm again. It's the first time he's noticed but her hands aren't freezing and there's a flush behind her cheeks. Besides the gouges on her face, she looks healthy again. She brings his hand closer to her face to examine it before the smile playing on her lips betrays her, she kisses the small red mark softly and his face heats, no doubt turning as red as the striping on his armor, "You gotta be more careful. Can't have you getting shocked like that, you almost gave me a heart attack." 

She stands and stretches her arms above her head, exposing her stomach, she's lost weight and muscle mass, he can almost see her ribs, when he meets her eyes there's a mysterious glint in them, the grin she wears so easily plastered on her face, "You wanna go on an adventure?" 

\---------------------------

She sticks her head out of the doorway, looking from side to side before tiptoeing out of her room, Tech not far behind, "Alright, we just have to get by Shala. I think she's doing rounds on the other side of the floor so it won't be hard." She whispers. 

They slink down the hall, careful not to make any noise. Just when she thinks it's clear she hears her, "Hey! What are you two doing?!" Shala shouts from down the hall. 

She turns, pushing on Tech's chest plate with a laugh, "Run!" 

\----------------------------

He shouldn't be this worried to see her, not with what the boys had been telling him the last few days. They say she's been getting better, getting stronger each day.

When he steps through the doors to the Halls of Healing calm washes over him, he knows that the Jedi do this on purpose, they don't want their patients in any extra pain whether it be physical or emotional. The golden rays of sunlight pour through the windows bathing everything in warmth. 

"Oh good. You're here for Flora?" The same nurse from before asks. 

"Yes, ma'am." He tells her as she leads her back to her room. 

"Good, she's getting stir-crazy. She also barely sleeps, it makes night shift nervous."

He has to stifle a laugh, clearing his throat to cover it up, "That sounds like Reaper. I apologize for any trouble she has caused." 

A grin breaks out over the Nautalons face, "We chased her and Tech, I think that was his name, all the way down to the gardens yesterday afternoon. It was a nice change of pace, we usually only get stern and stoic Jedi generals. Once we knew she was okay we all relaxed a little." 

He breathes a sigh of relief. Thank the gods they didn't do any real damage. 

"Alright, this is her. Good luck on your missions, Sargent. May the Force be with you." She nods her head before continuing down the hall. 

When the door slides open it reveals Reaper sitting on the windowsill and General Kafirm sitting in the chair in the corner, her smile grows into her grin when she sees him, "Sargent, come in. Please." She tells him. 

"I was going over her guidelines for the next few weeks, I've cleared her for missions as long as she takes it easy in between them, bacta for the remaining cuts on her face, she needs to come back if anything happens." General Kafirm tells him. 

"We will be on Courscant for the next week. I'll keep her from training while we're here. I'll make sure she takes it easy." he promises. 

"Good, whenever you're ready, Flora, you may leave." He turns to his apprentice and lays a hand on her shoulder, "It's been good to see you again, my padawan. I'll see you again soon. May the Force be with you." 

"And with you, Master." She bows her head to him. 

"Good luck on your future missions, Sargent." The General tells him on the way out of the room. 

He waits a beat or two to make sure everything is clear before he moves to her, handing the black bag to her that he was carrying, "I brought you clothes and boots, can't have you running around Coruscant in," He gets a good look at the white tunic and pants and can't help but notice how well the color fits her, "White looks good on you." He smirks at her. 

"Tech said the same thing," She looks down at herself.

She moves to the door and presses the button making it slide shut before she tugs the tunic up over her head and throws it on the bed, her usual compression garment is replaced with wrappings, as his eyes trail down her torso he notices just how much weight she's lost, he can see the outline of her ribs and her collarbones stand out, there's a small scar in between her ribs, where the chest tube must have been placed. He moves to her, gently placing his hands on her hips, "Looks like I'll be feeding you double rations again." He leans forward and kisses her forehead. 

She rolls her eyes but doesn't fight him as she pulls the shirt out of the bag, "I have my own civilian clothes." She tells him. 

"Yeah, but you look better in mine." His smirk grows as she pulls the black short sleeve shirt on. It's entirely too big on her but he doesn't care. "See?" He steps away when her hands reach for the waistband of her pants, turning towards the window, "You had quite the view."

"It's better at night." She comments. 

"Is that why you weren't sleeping?" He crosses his arms over his chest as he continues to take in the never-ending city.

"Well, that and rounds are every thirty minutes, on this floor at least. You try sleeping when a nurse is taking your vitals." She grumbles. 

"Fair point." His eyes follow a speeder as it weaves its way in and out of traffic. 

"Why don't we have orders yet?" She asks. 

"They thought we needed a break, the report for the last one was a disaster." He explains. 

She huffs in agreement, "Nothing like seein' something straight out of a horror holo to scar you for life." She mumbles under her breath. 

"That was part of it," Hunter sighs and turns around, she wrestles with her boots, tugging one on. "Echo is also getting new gear as well, his needs to be properly fitted, not to mention Tech isn't done with your new helmet yet." 

"Have you seen it?" She tugs on the other boot, "It's amazing. He's really done a fantastic job." 

"He and Echo have barely slept, between his hand and your helmet." He lets another sigh slip, "I'm glad you're coming back." 

She looks up at him with a smile, "I wouldn't dream of leaving." She finishes tying her laces and stands with a grin on her face, the expression distorts the scars across her face, but her eyes are still bright, "Let's get outta here." She holds out her hand and he takes it, lacing their fingers together. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next part will be filler, I'm also working on an AU after I saw that trailer (All aboard the pain train!) 
> 
> If anyone knows more about the unfinished Kashyyyk arc please let me know. (My tumblr is leonidas-banana-phone ,Don't hesitate to reach out.)


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Last chapter for this one!

When she walks into their barracks she should have been surprised to see the pile of blankets and pillows in the center of the room, bunks pushed to the side, a few of the mattresses missing, presumably under the blankets and pillows. 

A lump of a clone pokes his head out of the blanket pile, Echo, "C'mere." He beckons to her. Tech emerges next, eyes squinting without his goggles, lines from his pillow creased into his skin, and one side of his hair flat. 

She kicks off her boots and moves to the edge, Crosshair and Wrecker are curled around each other, she knows when they get up they will deny it ever happened but it makes her smile none the less. 

She all but flops into Echo's arms, "You got them to participate in a cuddle pile?" She mumbles into his blacks. 

"Told them it would be better for you if we all were able to touch you." He murmurs. 

Tech must have realized finally that it was her in his foggy field of vision as he scoots closer, she runs her fingers through his hair and he relaxes back into sleep, "It's good to see him sleeping." She whispers to Echo. 

He nods, stifling a yawn. 

Hunter crawls in and buries his face in a pillow before he wraps his arms around her, pulling her away from Echo, "It's good to have you home." He mumbles into her hair. 

Echo moves to lay on his side, laying his arm over her waist and pressing his forehead against hers, his eyes close and his breathing evens out. 

She lays there for a moment, listening to the soft sounds of sleep echoing around her before she too closes her eyes. She's home. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> That's all she wrote! Thanks for reading!


End file.
